Follow You Down
by zsomegaluckee
Summary: With the Reaper War ended, and a hero lost, the galaxy faces a possible new threat that could be even more devastating than the last. All the while, Garrus Vakarian hangs on to a slim hope that he has not been robbed of his Commander, mentor, best friend and the love of his life. Set post ME3 Destroy ending. Shakarian. Rated M for language, sexual references and eventual violence.
1. An End Once and For All

_If I could find assurance to leave you behind_

_I know my better half would fade…_

* * *

The battle for Earth was rapidly becoming a catastrophe. The Reaper ground forces were slaughtering nearly everyone they overwhelmed. Reaper capital ships and destroyers landed by the dozens, shooting their red beams at anything even remotely organic. Humans, turains, salarians, asari, and krogans were being slaughtered where they stood. In essence, it was the annihilation they all feared since learning of these "old machines". The organics were losing this war quickly.

The SSV _Normandy_ SR-2 was in complete and total disarray. Joker was in the cockpit, frantically maneuvering the controls in an attempt to pull the Alliance ship from the battlefield as EDI shouted status reports to him every few seconds. Engineers were running to and from stations, yelling readings to one another. The Prothean, Javik had taken position in the main battery, working with James Vega to keep the Thannix Cannon at operable functioning, in order for the Alliance ship to shoot its way out of Earth's atmosphere. Tali'Zorah was on the engineering deck with Adams, Donnelly, and Daniels desperately struggling to stabilize the drive core. Alliance marines and alien soldiers were being rushed into the already over capacitated medbay.

Dr. Chakwas was presently shouting at Major Kaidan Alenko to put pressure on the exit wound of an asari commando. Kaidan nodded, pale faced and nauseous, watching the asari's blood spill from the injury into his shaking hands. Her cries rattled Kaidan to the bone, every time he shifted to get a better hold. Steve Cortez bandaged his own leg, beside Kaidan, wincing every few moments. In the midst of the commotion, the screaming and the clatter of surgical equipment, Garrus Vakarian lay on a metal slab, staring wordlessly at the ceiling. The sounds around him were muffled by his own heart, pounding deafeningly in his ears.

Liara T'Soni was quickly stripping off his armor, attempting to find the source of his bleeding. When she pulled away the last piece of armor, his blue blood surged around a large piece of shrapnel jutting from the side of his lower abdomen. Garrus hardly moved, the pain was a dull throb and he was numb to it, if only for the time being.

The_ Normandy _had just landed into the firefight to pick up an injured Liara and Garrus, among a number of soldiers who hadn't been blown to pieces by Harbinger. They were both wounded by a Mako flung into the air by Harbinger's inferno during the final push towards the beam that was to take them and Shepard to the Citadel to activate the Catalyst.

Shepard had half dragged, half carried Garrus to the _Normandy_, Liara limping behind them. Once to the ship, Shepard signaled for Liara to take him, under Marine cover fire. He had protested of course, insisted that he could make it. Garrus begged her, pleaded with her… they were in this together… She had said so herself… "No Shepard without Vakarian"... They were a team.

In the moment before the _Normandy_ took off, time stopped. She looked akin to an angel of fire upon the battlefield, a warrior angel, fierce in wrath… _Siha_, as Thane had once called her. Only now did Garrus fully comprehend and appreciate the meaning of the drell word. Her short, fiery red hair was windswept and blown across her face. Her armor was scorched, burned, and pitted from years of battle. She approached him tenderly, her defiant blue eyes full of silent concern. For a singular moment, they were the only two people in the galaxy. There was no gunfire, there were no Reapers, no battle for Earth, no death, or loss, or hate. Just two individuals brought together through a series of unusual circumstances. She had pledged herself to him and his heart would never belong to another as long as he lived. It was the first time Garrus had uttered "I love you" to Shepard, and right now he feared it might have been the last.

In a whirlwind of emotion and pain, he bolted into an upright position, adrenaline searing through him like Shepard's omni blade through Lieutenant Bastard Kai Leng's chest. Every sound, every smell, every sense came flooding back in one fell swoop, reality hitting him as brutally as the Mako did. His wounds had gone almost completely disregarded until his heart rate had slowed and the adrenaline ceased coursing through his veins. The pain was beginning to return in excruciating waves.

"Damnit Joker!" Garrus shouted from his metal slab. "You can't just leave her down there!"

"I don't like it either, but she gave me an order to get the hell out of here," the flight lieutenant barked over the intercom.

"Just like you did when you left her over Alchera!?" Garrus roared.

There was a hesitation before- "Don't you dare-", Joker started. Dr. Chakwas leaned over one of her medical carts, punching off the intercom, cutting the argument short.

"Garrus, I need you to calm yourself!" she interjected.

He swung his feet over the side of table, clearly furious, and made a beeline straight for the medbay's door. At that very same moment, James Vega stepped back over the threshold, blocking Garrus' path.

"Get out of my way Vega," he said in a low, threatening voice. The large soldier crossed his tattooed arms and stood up at full height, daring to stare down a six and a half foot, enraged turian. Their eyes met, and for the briefest of moments, the two shared the same thought. _She may not make it._

Vega puffed out his chest, put on a brave face, and placed a reassuring hand lightly on his shoulder, "She'll make it, Scars. Lola always makes it." Garrus hung his head in defeat, brow plates furrowing, muttering, "Alright", then turned on heal to walk back to the medbay table.

Just as Garrus lifted his arms to allow Chakwas and Liara to clean out the shrapnel, he noticed he had been clutching something cold and metallic in his hand. When he glanced down to have a better look, he realized, with a heavy heart, it was Shepard's Alliance dog tags. She must have pushed them into his hands before she raced off towards the beam.

He turned them over in his hands, memorizing every detail. The N7 inscribed on the front was flaked with red. _Blood_, he thought. More than likely hers, considering the amount of times she had been shot at over the years. The other side was engraved with an ID number as well as the wording "Systems Alliance Navy", "Council Spectre" and "CMDR".

Above all of this, her name. Garrus ran his thumb over it. On the night before the assault on Cronos Station, she had whispered her given name to him, in the silence of her quarters.

_"Aurora Shepard," she said quietly in the glowing light of her oversized fish tank. She was straddled across his lap, delicately tracing his collar bone with one her many fingers. She wore nothing but her dog tags. _

_Garrus tilted his head slightly to the side, his mandibles twitching as he regarded her._

_"What?" she asked, a brief grin flashing across her face as he beheld at her. His eyes moved over her pale skin and defined muscles beneath it, to her red hair he combed through his hands. She had cut it again while on shore leave. Garrus recalled he had once found it bizarre humans could cut their strange, soft crests and it would grow back. He preferred it this length. _

_He suddenly wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and gently pulled her towards him. He kissed her hard on her soft lips the best he could. He had come to adore human gestures of affection, this being his favorite. She kissed him back with just as much passion and intensity, caressing the underside of his fringe. He drew her in even closer, their chests pressed hard against one another. He ran his hands down the side of her thighs, resting his forehead against hers. She shuddered against him. _

_It took several moments to realize that she was choking back sobs._

_"Damnit! Did I hurt you?" he panicked. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time. Their intimacy had been known to be clumsy and sometimes a bit awkward, especially more towards the beginning of their relationship. She use to feign being hurt, maybe pout a little before bursting into laughter._

_But this? This was the first time he had seen her cry. She was always so calm and rational. Rarely did she let her emotions rule her, except when she was angry… and that was a whole different story._

_She shook her head, wiping her eyes resentfully with the back of her hand. He took her head in both his hands, lifting her eyes to his. They were bloodshot and wet with tears. He had a difficult time understanding why humans cry. Turians usually wound up punching something… or someone when they were upset. But it intrigued him. _

_She had never been as vulnerable as she was in this instant. He wanted to hold her close, tell her how he really felt about her, tell her she was everything to him, and how he never wanted to let go. Tell her that everything would be alright._

_"I can't do this Garrus," she sobbed. _

_"Do what?" he asked gently. She threw her hands in the air saying, "This! I can't be the fucking hero they want me to be," she paused. "The hero they _expect _me to be."_

_"Shepard, you already are a hero to every species in this galaxy! The Hero of the Skyllian Blitz, the First Human Spectre, The Savior of the Citadel, you brought us back from a suicide mission that no one believed we would return from. Spirits, you've single handedly united the turians and the krogan, the geth and the quarians, cured the genophage and brought the might of the galaxy to bear upon Cerberus and the Reapers. If anyone can do this, it's you," he said, striving to reassure her._

_"I never wanted any of this," she said quietly, seemingly ignoring him. She tilted her head towards the ceiling and the large window that opened into the vastness of the stars. _

A hot, searing pain jerked Garrus back to reality. Liara and Chakwas had just removed the large piece of shrapnel from his abdomen.

"If we don't get you to a medical facility soon Garrus, you'll be at risk for an infection," Chakwas said. Garrus watched as Liara placed the large chunk of metal stained with his blood onto a tray. "There's only so much I can do with medigel, and our dextro supplies are running low."

"Until she comes walking through that door and I know she's ok, I don't give a damn if I live or not," he sneered, thrusting a finger at the medbay door, his subharmonics trembling.

"Garrus, we can't even-" Liara began. He rounded on her angrily, "Don't Liara."

"We have to be realistic," Chakwas said harshly. "This. Is. War." Garrus opened his mouth to retort but the doctor continued, "No! Listen to me. We have all lost people. Hell most of us have lost colonies… planets even. She wouldn't want you to give up simply because she's not here to hold your hand."

Just as Garrus was about to retort, the _Normandy_ shuddered around them. There were a number of surprised gasps and a few cries of shock and fear from those present in the medbay.

"Alright people, hang on to your asses; things might get a bit rough," Joker said over the intercom.

Liara turned from Garrus and sprinted out the door without saying a word, with Vega in tow, presumably rushing to the cockpit to comprehend what was happening.

Garrus groaned in pain as he reached over to punch the button of the intercom, "Talk to me Joker."

"The Citadel! I'll be a son of a-" the pilot's voice trailed off in awe.

"What the hell was that?" Garrus demanded.

"She did it! I don't know how but.. but shit, I think she did it!" Joker said incredulously.

"Oh goddess!" came Liara's astonished voice. "She _did_ do it! Look! The Reapers stop dead when that energy surge reaches them!"

Garrus was becoming even more frustrated because he couldn't tell what was happening with the Citadel and the Crucible, with the Reapers.

"Uhh- Joker… I think we better get our asses moving." Vega said earnestly over the laughter and the cheers coming over the intercom.

"I believe the Lieutenant is correct, Jeff. That energy is focusing on the machines, including all these ships," EDI commented.

"But I- I can't leave her, not this time. Not like this-" Joker's words reflected what Garrus was thinking.

Hackett's voice came over the loud speaker, announcing to every ship in the system, "All fleets. The Crucible is armed. Disengage and head to the rendezvous point." A pause and a weary sigh. "I repeat. Disengage and get the hell out of here."

The broadcast terminated and Liara could be heard saying, "Jeff, we need to go." The despair and regret in her voice cut Garrus to the bone.

Joker exhaled, saying directly into Garrus' earpiece, "We'll come back for her, big guy. I promise."

Garrus reared up, batted Chakwas' prying hands away, overturned a medical stand, and stalked off furiously.

* * *

**Updated 5/18/13**


	2. Palaven's New Primarch

_And all my doubt is a staircase for you_

_Up and out of this maze…_

* * *

6 months later

Aurelia Vaxus was eager to be back on Palaven. After nearly five months of being stranded in the Sol system, she was relieved to have returned home, even if home was nearly a desolate wasteland.

Aurelia was a determined, young turian. Perhaps slightly shy, and maybe a little unsure of herself. She was a bit ignorant when it came to the tactics of war, having just recently graduated from the Academy. She had served on the _Hadrian_, one of the largest dreadnoughts in the turian military, during the Reaper War, pulled from the Academy prematurely to aid in the war effort. Though, after the defeat of the Reapers, she went back to finish her last term.

She counted herself among the lucky ones, having lost no one close to her during the war, but she knew countless other families who had been torn apart in the last year and a half. Many clans still had members missing in action or pronounced KIA.

_Spirits, why was I so fortunate, when others were not?_ she had thought to herself more often than not. The whole damn war had been unfair.

Now, she was back on Palaven, pencil pushing for the last four months. Normally she would have been upset with the prospect of having a desk job, but this specific job would be crucial to her young career. Aurelia was still a bit unsure of how she had landed this position, but she wasn't complaining. Though, come to think of it, there were a number of rumors spread about the office staff by the younger interns that she had slept with the new Primarch for the position. If anyone knew her, even just slightly, the prospect of it was laughable.

A career in Cipritine, employed by politicians, had made her father proud and brought honor to her clan. Aurelia was beyond elated to serve in any way her superiors saw fit, particularly if it meant keeping stability within a weakened civilization.

Presently, she stood in the back of a large conference room of the capital building, one of the first structures to be rebuilt. The hierarchy was, after all, the most essential part of turian civilization. Aurelia clutched several datapads tightly to her chest, as she listened to the Director of Staff review the agenda for the day. A number of other young turian interns asked questions, but Aurelia knew her duties. Despite what others may say to her or about her, she reported to only one other individual.

She watched as the others finished and left the conference room. She waited until she was completely alone before setting down her datapads and bringing up her omni-tool interface. She quickly typed a few things in and glanced at her own reflection in the mirror above the food and drink table.

While she didn't want to admit it, Aurelia was in no way regarded as unattractive, at least by turian standards. Her white clan markings shown in heavy contrast against her dark plates and carapace. Her golden eyes looked back at her, through the reflection of the mirror, with mild curiosity. She wasn't too tall or too short. And her crest was slightly longer than most turian women. She looked a spitting image of her mother, except for her eyes. Her eyes, she had definitely inherited those from her father.

Glancing back down at her omni-tool, Aurelia poured a glass of a cold dextro- tea, something quarian. She picked up the tumbler and her datapads and left the conference room the same way her coworkers had.

_Time to begin the day, _she said to herself. Maybe her boss wouldn't be so callous today.

As Aurelia pushed the button of the elevator to take her to the upper levels, she had to chuckle to herself. _That would be a miracle… for her boss to not be so damn cold_.

It wasn't that she would say she disliked the older turian, it was just that he was so closed off and not very personable. She had to admit though, he was intimidating as hell.

The elevator arrived after a time, in no hurry to get anywhere fast. Aurelia boarded it, shifting her datapads and the cup as the doors slid shut.

She watched as the numbers ticked by, humming a turian anthem quietly to herself. After long last, the elevator reached her floor. She strode by the secretary in the reception area, bowing her head in recognition as she passed. The secretary watched Aurelia over the top edge of her omni-tool. Aurelia rolled her eyes when she reached the doors to her superior's office. The receptionist's head was probably already teeming with gossip ready to spread about the office at a moment's notice.

Aurelia knocked once on the office doors and entered.

Her employer had his back to her, facing a large screen on the opposite wall.

"Prima-" Aurelia began. Without turning to face her, he held up his hand to silence her. She immediately obeyed. He was in the middle of a vid-chat, with a young asari maiden.

As he spoke, Aurelia regarded him. He was taller than most turians, standing nearly six and a half feet tall at full height. However, it seemed to her that he nearly always stood slightly stooped, as though he was contending with a burden too heavy to bear, though he would not admit it, least of all to her. He was a battle hardened soldier, with a gruff, unemotional demeanor. Scars crisscrossed a large portion of his visible body, including one side of his face, distorting his blue clan markings.

As he spoke with the asari, he leaned heavily on his desk, one arm crossed horizontally over his chest, while the other rubbed his eyes in what appeared to be weariness. His sub-vocals saying as much.

Aurelia glanced around the office as she always did, taking in personal relics he used to decorate it with. A Black Widow sniper rifle was mounted on the wall to her left, a geth assault rifle hung underneath it. From what she understood, the Black Widow was an Alliance developed weapon that had been purchased by the Council for Spectres in stealth operations, but she couldn't be entirely sure. On the wall to her right, a large glass case held a multitude of model ship souvenirs. Why in the galaxy he would collect such a thing, she could never guess. Next to the large vid-screen though, was the most bizarre thing in the whole office. Another glass case was hooked up to tubes and what appeared to be a ventilation system. In the glass container, was a hideous, furry, little creature that preferred to hide in its little house rather than to observe the world around it. Aurelia didn't dare ask what the hell it was though. On his desk, several datapads were scattered about haphazardly. A blue, high tech targeting visor lay in several pieces off to one side, apparently abandoned. Next to that was a set of worn, human military dog tags.

He was a very strange turian.

"Alright… thanks Liara… keep the updates coming. I want to know the second you find anything," he had finally finished his conversation, turning off the vid-screen with a tap to his omni-tool. He turned around, not making eye contact with Aurelia, slouching down in his oversized chair.

He looked out of place in a politician's office, wearing politician's garments. He would have looked more at home staring down the scope of his Widow. He held his head in his hand, clearly exhausted, while his other hand drifted aimlessly to the dog tags lying on his desk.

"Primarch? Primarch Vakarian? Sir?" Aurelia said gently. "I-I have the datapads you requested. I also took the liberty of bringing you some of that quarian tea they had downstairs…" she winced. The words had just tumbled out all too quickly and she berated herself for sounding so childish.

Not saying a word, he stood back up, clutching the dog tags firmly in his hand. The Primarch trudged to his large window facing the streets of Cipritine. He rested his fist with the tags against the glass, and silence overtook them.

"Sir," Aurelia was uncertain how to proceed. "Are you alright?" she finally asked. After several awkward moments of silence, the Primarch finally spoke.

"Have you heard the latest office gossip?" he said with a hint of distaste.

"I'm not really sure-" her voice broke off.

"Apparently, you and I are sleeping together, and that's how you got this job…"

"I don't-"

He waved his free hand in the air to ward off any more uncomfortable responses, "You haven't lost anyone close to you have you?"

"No, sir… I was very fortunate…"

"Yea, I suppose you were," he sighed. He then turned to face her, extending his opened hand to her. "You see these?"

Aurelia hesitated.

"Go ahead, take a look," he said, thrusting the tags toward her. She set the tumbler and the datapads on his desk and took the cool metal chain from her superior, but not before glancing up at him to make sure he wasn't testing her. She turned them over in her hands, unfamiliar with the human words upon them.

The Primarch looked at his feet, saying in a low voice, "Aurora Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy, Council Spectre, Commander. Her ID number, 5923-AC-2826… I've read them over and over again, memorizing every word, every number, every scratch and imperfection,"

"I'm not sure if I'm the one you should be telling this to... Sir," Aurelia added hastily.

The Primarch snorted, his subvocals full of contempt, "Aurelia... I have friends in high places... A quarian admiral, the Shadow Broker, a Justicar, a krogan warlord, numerous human contacts and yet not a single one of them is on this whole damn planet… I'm in mourning… I've lost the only woman I have ever pledged my heart to, and as the days pass by, I fear more and more I won't ever see her again."

Aurelia offered the tags back to him, hesitant of where this conversation was going, "I know Shepard was your commander, and a damn hero at that… but what has she got to do with your mourning?" She hoped to the spirits that she wasn't overstepping her boundaries.

The older turian took the tags from her and regarded her with his beady grey eyes… cold, calculating… sad…

"You really are naïve, aren't you," he said more as a statement of fact, rather than a question.

She remained silent.

He walked over to his desk and opened a drawer, lifting a datapad carefully from it. He handed it to her.

She tapped the screen, and it lit up a picture. It showed a turian and a human… female. After a minute or so, Aurelia realized it was the Primarch, and (her heart sinking) _the_ Commander Shepard. The two were in what appeared to be a bar or a club. Their bodies were pressed so close together, that no daylight could escape… The pair was… _dancing_? The Primarch's mandibles were flared wide, his eyes were lit up as she had never seen them before. He was smiling. They were both wearing civilian dress clothes. He looked very smart in dark blue and white clothing. She wore a very skin tight silver dress that complimented his metallic plates. Her red hair was cut chin length and she was grinning from ear to ear. The picture depicted the two gazing long into each other's eyes, completely unaware of the scandalized looks they were receiving from onlookers and oblivious to a picture being taken of them.

Everything came full circle for Aurelia; she finally understood why the older turian was the he was. Why he was so distant and kept to himself when he wasn't overseeing rebuilding projects or meeting with other politicians or handing out medals. She was startled, to say the least.

Speechless, she brought a hand to her mouth in shock, handing the datapad back to the Primarch. He took it from her, brow plates furrowing as he replaced it in its drawer.

"Lt. Vega took that while we were on shore leave… He also taught me that dance… For her… I can't remember if it was a salsa or a tango…" he said more to himself.

"I am so sorry Primarch," Aurelia said quietly. "I really had no idea…"

"Not very many people do… If anyone ever asked, we always played it off as a joke. The only ones that really knew were our close friends on the _Normandy_. The mission always came first… Always," he closed his eyes, reminiscing. "I would have followed her into the darkest reaches of space… Shit… we all would have. She had a way of making you want to fight for what she believed in. Her prerogatives became ours. She believed that everyone still had some good left inside them… Benezia, Saren, the Illusive Man… Hell, she saved me from losing myself to revenge…"

He crossed his arms across his carapace, shifted his weight and turned his head back to the window, seemingly consuming himself with her memories.

Aurelia could hardly believe what she had just heard. _A human and a turian? In love?_ It wasn't unheard of but it was most certainly looked down upon.

"Aurelia… I'd prefer if you kept this conversation to yourself," he said not looking back at her. "Palaven doesn't need to know I'm not a very good turian…"

She nodded and turned to go, taking with her, everything the Primarch had said. As she pushed the office door open, she heard him say, with his subharmonics quaking, "Damnit Shepard… I can't do this alone."

By the end of the day, Aurelia had resolved that the whole ordeal was indeed tragic.

* * *

**Updated 5/18/13**


	3. Black Widow

_The first step is the one you believe in,_

_The second one might be profound…_

* * *

Garrus had finally found a few hours to himself. Hoping to ease some tension, he strapped on his new set of armor, reassembled his targeting visor, and headed down to the firing range with his Black Widow for some much needed target practice. He contemplated going to the new holo-range in the bottom portion of the capitol building, but decided against it. Wishing to clear his head properly, he took his skycar several streets up to another range. It was privately owned and Garrus knew not many people would bother him.

He preset his course and turned on the autopilot. As the skycar took him to his destination, Garrus watched as ruined buildings flitted past his windows. Some had already been completely removed and replaced with newer ones. He passed several Reaper corpses that had yet to be dismantled. He made a mental note to have those removed in the near future. It still never ceased to amaze him of the havoc and destruction the Reapers had wrought on Palaven. In the back of his mind, he knew the destruction of Earth was far worse.

He recalled how he had become a Primarch. It was a month before the _Normandy_ could be repaired and get off that damn jungle planet. They had crashed on it, attempting to outrun the blast after the Crucible fired, destroying the Reapers. It still pained him, thinking about losing the geth and EDI, after all of Shepard's hard work. It was another month before Garrus could get back home. When he was finally planetside and the whole population knew of his return, he barely had time to breathe before he was informed of where he stood in the hierarchy. He reluctantly accepted, though he didn't really have a choice in the matter. The lines of succession were very clear.

He smiled inwardly, remembering when Shepard asked him how far down the line he was. She had said, _Primarch Vakarian, honored war hero_. He had brushed it off then, not thinking it would ever become true, and yet, here he was. Respectable, honored, a leader… The yahg Shadow Broker had been very wrong.

From what he understood, there were two other Primarchs besides himself. Each was able to speak for the turian population as a whole. A Primarch was appointed through very distinct lines of succession, and Garrus had jumped the citizenship tiers a number of times through the Reaper War. Typically, Primarchs took a more of a backseat role, trusting citizens under them to do their job competently. Garrus had been hands on from the start.

Arriving at the range, Garrus shook his ominous thoughts and parked his car. Carrying his equipment to the entrance, he tried to pay the owner, but the stooped, older turian would hear nothing of it, saying a bit too enthusiastically, "Even if you weren't the Primarch, I still wouldn't allow you to pay. You're a damn hero. Almost as famous as that commander of yours!" Garrus nodded his thanks and made a beeline for the furthest lane.

Setting his gear on the ground, Garrus observed his surroundings. He was quite pleased when he noticed he was the only person there. It was an open air facility, made with physical targets, rather than that fancy new crap they had at the capitol building. Clouds parted, and the light from Trebia's rays bore down in full strength, warming Garrus. He closed his eyes and raised his face toward them, allowing the warmth to seep in and wash away any lingering thoughts of anguish.

Garrus rolled his shoulders and stretched out his limbs, his new armor creaking. He had purchased the armor after being named Primarch. His old blue and black armor was blown to shit and rendered completely useless, beyond repair. He liked his new set well enough, though it had yet to be broken in. The joints were still stiff, and some of his old injuries rubbed against the inside of the armor in uncomfortable ways. Upon choosing this particular set, Garrus had gone with a slate grey and an N7 red color scheme, for obvious reasons.

He unzipped his tactical bag, pulling the Black Widow rifle from it, along with a number of heat sinks. Laying everything out in front of him, Garrus began to dismantle the rifle to clean it.

_"I have something for you," Shepard bounced into the Main Battery, carrying a black duffle bag. Garrus grumbled. He was up to his neck in firing algorithms for the Thannix Cannon. Having recently proved Legion wrong over weapons' accurarcy, Tali had just informed him that his little obsession had pulled an unnecessary amount of power from the drive core and insisted he fix it immediately, threatening to send Chatika after him._

_"Can it wait a bit… I'm in the middle of…"_

_"Enough with the calibrating already Garrus!" Shepard laughed. She heaved the bag at him. Awkwardly catching it, he was able to measure the weight almost immediately. It was heavy. He glanced at her, curiosity seizing hold. Shepard stood with her arms crossed and a playful glint in her blue eys, grinning like a fool. _

_"Well… are you going to open it?" _

_He hurriedly unzipped the bag and hauled out the contents. In his hands was a brand new Alliance Black Widow rifle. It reflected what little light there was in the battery. Weighing it in his hands, it was much heavier than his beloved M-98 Widow. It was perfectly balanced, with seamless and precise lines. The rifle even still had that new gun smell to it. This was a masterpiece by no stretch of the imagination. He gawked at it, his mandibles left hanging wide open. _

_"Do you like it?" she asked eagerly. It took Garrus several moments to find words. _

_"Shepard? How did you-? Where did-? This gun hasn't even been released yet-" he stammered, not quite believing what he was holding in his hands. Her grin widened, "Oh… You know… That's a perk of having a Spectre as your girlfriend. I get regular updates when new toys come in. And this particular item screamed 'turian bad boy.'"_

_Garrus set the flawless rifle on his work bench, pushed the duffle bag out of the way with his foot, and seized Shepard around the waist._

_"Huh… 'Turian bad boy' you say?" he said in low voice, his subvocals writhing with seduction. He spun her around and lifted her on top of the console, buttons and lights flashing wildly at being pushed all at once. Garrus ignored them and pressed his forehead against hers. Her legs wrapped around his upper thighs and came to rest on his spurs. _

_"Garrus, is something the matter?" EDI's voice came over the comms. "I detect alarms in the Main Battery."_

_Shepard snorted, while Garrus rolled his eyes. _

_"Everything's fine EDI… Shepard's here," he said to the disembodied voice._

_"Oh… I see… Logging you out then, Garrus… and Shepard," EDI said, her voice tinged with mirth. _

_Shepard continued to giggle until Garrus put a finger to her lips, saying quietly, "Now, where were we?" _

_She undid the clasps of his armor, her multitude of fingers moving swiftly._

_"Oh… Riiiight," he said as his armor fell to the floor with a loud clash._

Garrus was jerked from his thoughts as a blip appeared on his visor, alerting him to someone else's presence. His visor read that who or whatever it was, was not a threat. It sat quite still upon a hillside, 100 yards behind him and to his left.

He reassembled the rifle, loaded the thermal clip, and began to shoot his targets, the booming crack of the gun ringing in the air each time he squeezed the trigger. He kept a watchful eye on the unknown and unmoving blip.

Firing his weapon, Garrus' heart began to race, adrenaline thundering in his ears. With each shot, he could feel his concerns slip to the back of his mind. He found comfort in weapons; he always had.

After fifteen minutes or so, his visor flashed "INCOMING CALL". Garrus hoisted his rifle over his shoulder and pressed his finger to his earpiece.

"Primarch Vakarian," he answered, slightly irritated. He had asked Aurelia to hold his calls for the next several hours.

"You know… I could blow your head off from way over here if I wanted to," said a soft voice. Garrus recognized the voice immediately. He smiled briefly.

"You'd only have one shot… I can see you from here," he said turning around and waving in the direction of the blip.

"You and that damn visor. I'm surprised you haven't had it implanted," chortled the voice.

"Are you coming down or can I continue shooting?" Garrus said impatiently.

"I'm coming. Meet me at the front entrance." The call ended. Garrus folded the rifle  
and slapped it to his electromagnetic plating on his back, holstering it. He left his bag and heat sinks where they lay.

Solana Vakarian was waiting for him already by the entrance when he arrived. Garrus touched his younger sister's forehead with his head and then embraced her. She pushed him off and punched him.

"I see some of those fine human qualities have rubbed off on you," she said sarcastically. Solana was a bit shorter than her brother, coming just to the tip of his flat nose. Her fringe was of normal length. Her plating was a hint lighter than Garrus', accenting her blue clan markings. Greenish yellow eyes looked him over from head to toe.

"What the hell happened to your face?" she asked, catching sight of his scars. Garrus swept his hand across his mandible. Shrugging, he replied, "I took a rocket to my face."

"That's not funny," Solana said, folding her arms.

"It's nice to see you too, Sol."

"Really Garrus? I haven't seen you in ages and you look like shit," she said as he turned to go back inside the range. The owner pretended not to be listening to their conversation.

"How's your leg? Dad told me you broke it,"

She shrugged, "It's fine, I suppose. Still aches sometimes. Nothing to worry about. Thanks for asking about it sooner though."

Upon reaching his gear, he was already fed up with her chastising remarks. The joy of seeing his sister again was swiftly fading. Rounding on her, he said, "Did you come all this way just to criticize me? Or was there something else?"

"Fine, if you don't want to talk now, then perhaps we can talk later… over dinner. Dad's waiting for us at the restaurant."

Garrus growled, "Dad came with you?"

"Uh- yeah, Garrus. He did. And he wants us to have dinner with him tonight so we can all have a nice, long chat," Solana said admonishingly.

Garrus was not looking forward to seeing the elder Vakarian. For the vast majority of Garrus' life and up until the start of the Reaper War, Tychus Vakarian had continuously berated him for every mistake, every screw up, and every bad decision he had made. Tychus had definitely not approved of Garrus abandoning his original C-Sec post and running off with a human, even less approving of Garrus returning after Saren and running off again to do merc work. It was only until the threat of the Reapers loomed ever present, did Tychus finally listen to what his son had to say. _Yell loud enough and someone will eventually come over to see what all the fuss is about. _He had always been crass and stone cold. Having not been on Palaven when his mother passed, or when the Reapers invaded, cut his bond to his family deep. Garrus was in no mood for a family reunion.

As the two siblings headed back to the skycar, Solana's demeanor changed profoundly.

"Despite what you may think Garrus, he's very proud of you," Solana admitted. Garrus surveyed his sister from the corner of his eye. Perhaps dinner wouldn't be so terrible after all.

* * *

**Updated 5/18/13**


	4. A Dark Reunion

_I'll follow you down through the eye of the storm,_

_Don't worry, I'll keep you warm…_

* * *

Following the aftermath of the Reaper War, Liara T'Soni returned to Illium, resuming her guise as an invested information dealer, and revealing to no one she was indeed the true Shadow Broker. She had taken back her old office in Nos Astra, keeping Feron as her assistant. She also managed to secure her old apartment as well, pulling a few strings here and there. Liara spent most days in her office, sifting through feeds of binary code and reports of agents throughout the galaxy. With every passing day, she became more aware of the galaxy's comings and goings than most political leaders, even more so than perhaps the Council.

At present, Liara stood in front of her multitude of vid screens, watching for anything that may raise suspension or seem out of the ordinary. In the months that followed the explosion of the Crucible and the Citadel, Liara got wind from a variety of sources that none of Shepard's remains were found among the Citadel wreckage, either orbiting Earth or what had crashed on its surface. She found it odd that the only remaining object was the Commander's helmet. Of course, Shepard had given Garrus her dog tags before she darted off toward the beam one last time. It was entirely possible that Shepard's body had been completely disintegrated, though she cringed at the thought, remembering the state of her body after she and Feron found Shepard on Alchera. Upon returning to Nos Astra, she immediately leaked threads to a variety of groups and persons in the hopes that any information of Shepard's disappearance or death could be coaxed from the depths of the galaxy's underworld.

After several long minutes, her omnitool beeped, alerting her to a vid call. It was Tali, and Liara had a sinking feeling she knew why the quarian wished to speak to her.

"Hello Tali," she said bringing up the vid on one of her screens.

"Liara," the quarian said, inclining her head. "Are you getting these readings from Dholen?" Tali was noticeably stressed.

Liara pulled some stats onto another monitor. "I am. These numbers are a bit worrisome."

Tali scoffed, "You don't need to tell me. Haestrom is getting worse, and Dholen may go supernova in the next _fifty_ years if this keeps up. That's my within my lifetime, Liara"

Liara watched as Tali placed her hands on the console in front of her and waited for her to continue.

"Dark energy levels have been increasing all over the galaxy since the end of the Reaper War. It doesn't make sense, but I fear the Reapers were keeping it at bay," Tali said, shaking her cloth covered head.

"I know Tali. I have yet to pinpoint where the dark energy is originating from. I do, however have a small team, scouting the outer regions of the galaxy to take measurements. But… forgive me for not looking into it more than I am… I just have other- more pressing matters on my mind," Liara said, wringing her hands together.

Tali sighed, "I'm sorry Liara. I forget sometimes that she's-" A pause. "Keelah! I still punch her number into my omnitool to try to call her before I remember she's not here… How's Garrus doing by the way?"

Liara shrugged, "Heartbroken… angry… Insistant that she's still out there…"

"You have your doubts?" Tali asked.

"Honestly? Yes, I do. You saw what happened when the Crucible fired… I have feelers out there, hoping to find some answers, but I won't be surprised if nothing comes of it."

"I… I understand. I keep thinking she's going to call me up and tell me to get my _ass_ back on the _Normandy_,"

Liara and Tali both chuckled.

"Well, Liara… Thanks… Let me know if anything changes,"

"You know I will, Tali,"

"I should go now- Bosh'tet! I will never forgive her for saying that!" Tali muttered as she severed the connection on her end.

Liara smiled at the blank screen. Somehow Shepard had managed to leave a part of herself behind in all of them. That much was apparent.

She turned to sit back down in the chair at her desk. For quite some time, Liara reminisced as she found herself doing often these days. After what seemed to be an age, Feron burst through her office door, causing Liara to jump to her feet.

"You may want to take a look at this," the drell said breathlessly, handing her a datapad.

Liara watched the security vid in dismay, her insides twisting.

"Check and recheck that vid. I want to know if it's someone trying to toy with me. And get me Admiral Hackett of Alliance Command…" she said, anxiously sifting through her desk drawers. "Also arrange transport. I'm going to Palaven,"

The stakes had just been raised tenfold.

* * *

The restaurant was dark, sparse accent lighting lit small tables and niches, unnecessarily lengthening long, obscure shadows. Music was playing in the background, something Garrus immediately comprehended as classical, human music. It sounded a bit out of place, but everyone seemed to not take notice to it. The only reason he recognized it, was because of the time Shepard insisted on downloading some classical files onto his visor for him to listen to during a firefight. She had teased him for months after discovering he listened to music while he was in combat. Water trickled from a nearby fountain, and could be heard over the private whispers of the restaurant's patrons. Most were turian, though there were a few asari, leaned close to their bond mates, their radiation gear left near the front door. A group of soldiers stood close to the long bar, the bartender within distance, in case any ran out of drink. Several politicians sat at a larger table, reviewing datapads and tapping notes into their omnitools. It was a quiet restaurant. Garrus hoped he wouldn't be acknowledged.

Nevertheless, the second he walked into the turian restaurant with his sister, all heads turned in his direction, and he was greeted by a flurry of admirers, wishing to have autographs or pictures taken with Palaven's newest and youngest Primarch. Garrus brushed them away, agitated, and Solana pushed three weeping asari back to their seats in a dark corner. Garrus instantaneously broke away from the throng of people and scoped the bar. He found an empty seat near the end, ordering a full bottle of turian brandy to take away his edge.

Someone slapped him on the shoulder in greeting. With his hand on his sidearm, Garrus spun around, coming face to face with his father. Tychus Vakarian's mandibles flared into a wide smile until his eyes fell upon his son's scarred face. Garrus was shocked to see he had finally surpassed his father in height.

"Spirits Garrus…," Tychus said gently, touching Garrus's scars. It was abnormal to see him this… tender?

"Dad," Garrus said bowing his crested head low, a gesture of respect towards elder turians. Tychus put his hand under Garrus' chin and lifted his head. The two turians' eyes met, and suddenly Garrus felt shame and disgrace for ever thinking ill will towards his father.

Solana came forward, eyes rolling and whispered, "Can we find a table please?" She led them to an empty table and gestured for them to sit, glancing around to be sure no others were too eager to greet them. Garrus brought his bottle of brandy.

"So… one big happy family, back together again," Solana said a bit too sarcastically. Garrus knew she was still pissed at him for not being there when their mother, Rixa, finally passed. Hell, Garrus couldn't blame his sister. He would have been cross as well, but he found no reason to attempt to justify his "leave of absence", as she called it.

"Garrus, I don't blame you for leaving," Tychus admitted. Garrus was astonished by his father's revelation. "I was angry I was so stuck in my ways. Furious my children were becoming adults. And distressed over your mother's sickness," he said the latter part with a weary sigh.

"I know I've grown soft in my old age son. I think I've earned a right to though. Your mother was a kind soul. And I wish I could have been more like her when the two of you were younger. I wish I could have been there more. I was so damn hard on the both of you, but especially you Garrus. I wanted you to be the perfect turian. Instead I failed you; I failed in being the perfect father. And I am ashamed…

"Though you took a different path than the one I intended for you, look at you now, Garrus. Primarch! A hero of the Reaper War! You have brought honor to the Vakarian clan in ways I never could."

Garrus had not anticipated this at all, and he was having difficult time trying to digest all that his father was saying to him.

Tychus continued, "It took me losing my wife, and almost losing my children to come to terms with what really mattered in my life. My only hope now is that, someday, you may find solace in my regret."

"Dad… you don't have to apologize for anything," Garrus said.

"Oh but I do,"

No one said much of anything in the following minutes. Tychus took a long swill from the bottle of turian brandy Garrus had loosely clutched in his hand.

Solana finally broke the silence, "So Garrus… find yourself a mate yet?"

Garrus nearly spit his brandy back out, "What?! No… I mean yes… I mean… well…"

Tychus chuckled and gave his son another slap on his back. Solana leaned in closer, "Well? Who is she?"

"That's not really…" Garrus stammered. His sister looked towards their father, "I bet it's that secretary… what was her name? Aurelia? She _is_ very pretty, G."

Garrus was baffled. He never considered Aurelia as bond mate material. Ever. She was too shy, too naïve and certainly not Shepard.

"She's not turian," he finally admitted. Solana's mandibles widened into a sadistic grin.

"Asari then!" she nearly burst with anticipation. As she watched her brother to reply with bated breath, Garrus eyed the entrance door as it opened.

An asari walked through, removing her radiation helmet and breathing apparatus. As she approached the table, Garrus identified her immediately.

"Liara," he breathed. He knew knew she wouldn't come all this way if it wasn't something important. He hopped to his feet to greet her.

"Hello Garrus," she said anxiously. Solana's brow plates nearly hit the ceiling.

"Liara, this is my sister Solana, and my father Tychus Vakarian. This is Dr. Liara T'Soni. She and I have been good friends aboard the _Normandy_ since hunting down Saren."

"It's a pleasure meeting you, but may I speak with you, Garrus, in private?"

"I like her!" Solana exclaimed, elbowing a smirking Tychus. Liara frowned at her and said, "It's a very _urgent_ matter."

"I'll be right back," he said to his family, trying desperately to hide his anxiety.

Liara led him to the far end of the bar, away from prying eyes. She handed him the same datapad Feron had showed her. He read through his visor that her biometrics were skyrocketed and she was visibly agitated and distraught.

Garrus synced what little audio there was to his earpiece and tapped "play". His heart pounded in his chest as he watched the vid feed.

"How long ago was this taken?" he said, adrenaline thundering in his ears.

"I'm not sure… I received it myself not days ago," she said, looking apprehensive.

"Is it real?"

"I have no reason to believe it's a fake, if that's what you're asking. I had Feron run extensive testing on it to determine what you have just asked me."

"Who else have you told?" he growled.

"Garrus, this isn't an interrogation," Liara said reproachfully. "But I've already forwarded a copy to Admiral Hackett."

"I'm sorry Liara, but if she's alive, spirits, we need to find her… Yesterday,"

"Agreed. That's why I've already arranged for a shuttle to pick us up tomorrow morning, 0700 Alliance standard time. We will rendezvous with the _Normandy_ when we get back to the Sol system."

* * *

**Updated 5/21/13... I realized there was a continuity error... whoops!**


	5. Falling from Grace

_I'll follow you down while we're passing through space,_

_I don't care if we fall from grace,_

_I'll follow you down…_

* * *

Garrus returned to the table his father and sister were seated at, his blood hammering in his ears. That vid was the first solid piece of evidence and first ray of hope they had of Shepard still being alive. He tried not to get his expectations up too high. Being an ex-cop, Garrus knew the stakes. He knew that the first several days of someone reported as missing were crucial. He also understood that as time passed, the likelihood of that missing person being found alive decreased dramatically. The vid could have been have been shot in the days following the end of the war. It could have been filmed a week ago. Garrus shook his head. No matter what he did or how he thought, the security vid shook him to his very core, unsettling him dramatically.

Upon reaching his family, Garrus was visibly distressed. Tychus took notice first, standing up, concern etched upon his aged features.

"Garrus?" he said slowly, though Garrus seemed not to have heard him. He tapped a quick message in his omni-tool. _The package may be delivered on time. _Brief and to the point, yet cryptic enough if it were to be intercepted. Hoping it was comprehendible, he sent the message first to Tali, then to Urdnot Wrex, Shepard's closest allies.

"Son, what is it?" Tychus repeated.

"I have to leave Palaven… First thing tomorrow morning…" Garrus trailed off.

"Leave?! Garrus! We just got back!" Solana whispered quite angrily.

"Sol… I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry?" her voice steadily rising to a shout. "You want to abandon your family? Again?" More than a few heads swiveled in their direction.

The Primarch quickly finished what was left of the brandy and followed after Liara.

Once outside, Liara cast a glance behind Garrus. Noticing his father and sister running after him into the warm night air, she grasped his hand and squeezed reassuringly.

"I'll meet you back at your apartment. And Garrus? We'll find her. You have my word," she said.

He nodded his thanks to the asari and turned to greet what was sure to be the wrath of his sister once more.

Tychus reached his son first. "What was that about?"

"Sol. You asked me if I was bonded with anyone…," Garrus braced for the inevitable impact. "Aurora Shepard was… _is _the most important woman in my life."

Sure enough, his sister gasped and exploded, "A human?! You've bonded with a human?!" Her angry was expected but the insult following was not.

"My own brother, in bed with a lesser species. I never thought I'd see the day," she scoffed

"Did you learn nothing from the war, Sol?" Garrus' own voice and subharmonics rising as well. "I _thought_ we had put all our petty differences behind us. We fought and died, together, against the Reapers, fighting for our survival, fighting for our right to live the way we see fit, and not by some damn synthetics trying to dictate our futures.

"The galaxy is no longer black and white, and I don't give a shit if you agree with the choices I've made, but I'm sure as hell not going to let you insult the only person who has _always_ accepted me for me, without question," Garrus finally snapped. He supposed it had been a long time coming, first with his father, now, his sister. He knew the Vakarians were a very old clan. Many of them still clung to tradition. He assumed Solana had adopted a similar mentality.

They use to be close, nearly inseparable. When had they become some distant?

"Do you really love her?" Tychus finally asked.

"Yeah Dad, I do," he said, exhausted.

"Then we better get packed. We have a shuttle expecting us tomorrow."

"Dad?" both siblings said together, incredulously.

"I'm going with you, of course! That is, if you'll have me…" Tychus said, his mandibles twitching in what could have passed as a smirk.

"This is unbelievable!" Solana said, throwing her hands in the air. "Send me a message when one of you have come to your senses." And with that his sister begrudgingly stalked off into the night.

"Are you sure Dad?" said Garrus, still uncertain of what he was hearing.

"The galaxy has changed in ways we could never have foreseen. You've grown Garrus. You're a leader now, and I don't know when that came to be. You're my son, and I've missed some of the most important moments in your life. Besides, you've spent nearly the last four years with this woman, I want to know why," said Tychus.

"If I agree to this, we do it my way," Garrus said.

He extended his hand to his father. Tychus took Garrus' hand, clasping it as if they were brothers in arms rather than father and son.

"What about Sol?" he said looking in the direction his sister had left. Tychus ran a hand over his fringe. "She'll come around. She took losing your mother very hard. Solana sacrificed a lot to care for her. I think she just wants to have some sense of normalcy in her life, and this little bombshell of yours doesn't seem to bode well with her."

"Shepard risked her life to pull me out of the fray when a Mako landed on me. I'm not returning to Palaven until I know for certain that she is either safe from harm or dead." Garrus said defiantly.

"Then I suppose we had better meet your asari friend and prepare," Tychus said, placing a firm, reassuring hand on Garrus' shoulder.

Tychus followed his son to the skycar, and the pair took flight. They rode the 15 minutes to Garrus' apartment in comfortable silence. He supposed if he was in his father's place, he might feel something similar, wanting to make up for lost time.

Garrus had felt the same way, seeing Shepard for the first time after six months of her being in lock up. At first however, he had found himself terrified that she no longer felt the same way about their relationship. After all, he hadn't even so much as received a message from her during that time. It wasn't until Liara messaged him, saying she was unable to speak with anyone from her crew, did he fully comprehend what was happening.

The Alliance had said it was to keep her safe from the batarians, after she crashed the asteroid into the Alpha relay, destroying nearly the entire species. He had also heard rumors that she was to be put on trial for working with Cerberus, or they were going to question her sanity for being so persistent about the Reapers. In the end, she had been right the entire time. Everything was true and tied in with the other. Even lock up wasn't enough to keep the inevitable from happening. They all eventually paid the price for not believing her.

_They had spoken briefly after their rendezvous with the new Primarch, Adrien Victus. Around 2300 Alliance standard time, Garrus found himself outside Shepard's door, holding a bottle of quarian wine for himself and another of batarian ale for her. He recalled while the ale would knock most levos out after a single drink, she simply got wasted off a couple and blamed it on her Cerberus implants._

_According to EDI, she had just finished her rounds on the ship. He tapped in the passcode to disengage the lock and let himself in. _

_Shepard's cabin was still the same as it had been while they used Cerberus. All of her model ships were in the glass casing surrounding her desk. The fish swam lazily in their oversized tank, unaware of how insignificant their lives truly were. _

_Garrus stopped dead in his tracks, shaking his head. No, he wouldn't think like that. Thinking of an organic's life as petty and meager was along similar lines of the Reapers justifying their means to harvest the galaxy, or of Cerberus thinking humans were the apex of their time. Both were wrong._

_He glanced at the shelf beside the bathroom door. The ugly little hamster was still in its container, peering at him through the glass. Shepard's bed sat at the bottom of the stairs, it was made up perfectly. The sheets were tucked into the corners tightly, no wrinkles showing. The pillows were propped against the headboard, meticulously arranged. Armor had been stripped off and thrown near the couch haphazardly. Her Alliance casuals lay discarded by the coffee table, along with several of her… underthings. Listening to the water run in the shower, Garrus smiled inwardly at himself. She was alone… in the shower… naked… probably scalding hot water pouring down her soft bare skin… _

_He quickly set the bottles of alcohol down on her desk, unclasping his clothing as fast as he could manage. Shedding them like a second skin, he tossed them aside and made a beeline straight for the door. It opened with a _whoosh_, revealing her standing under the steady stream of water. Her forearm was against the shower wall, her head resting against it. She bore most of her weight on one leg, keeping the other bent. Her red hair clung to her face. Garrus noticed she had gained several large bruises and one nasty looking gash on her left side. In the moments he watched her, Shepard didn't move a muscle. He decided to change that._

_Walking up behind her, wrapped his arms around her torso, careful to not brush her injuries. Resting his chin on her shoulder, she leaned her head against the side of his, her hair plastering to his scarred mandible. The pair remained there for a time, enjoying the comfort of the other, allowing the hot water and the steam to wash away dirt, grime, blood and worries. _

_Shepard turned around to face him, wincing ever so slightly as his hand brushed her laceration. _

_"You have no idea how much I've missed you Garrus," she said, throwing her arms around his neck. "You're all I've thought about these last six months."_

_"I didn't realize my… what's the word… 'swag'? made that much of an impression,"_

_Shepard threw her head back, shaking with laughter, "Alright Mr. Vakarian… three things. One. Don't ever use that word again. You sound ridiculous. Two, stop taking advice from Joker, because I'm betting he taught you that word in the first place."_

_Garrus nodded, his mandibles widening._

_"And three. I lied when I said you're the only thing I've thought about. I've thought about you and the impending doom we're all facing with these 'Reapers'," she emphasized the last word with quotation fingers. _

_He leaned his head against hers, saying, "That word did seem a bit silly. But I made you laugh, so that's all that matters."_

_He pushed her gently against the shower wall and kissed her. She returned the favor by brushing her fingers against the soft skin at the base of his fringe and running them down the upper portion of his spine. He shuddered in ecstasy._

_"Don't ever leave me for that long again," he whispered. _

_"I won't. I promise. The same goes by the way. There's no Shepard without Vakarian. And I'll be damned if I can't do this without you," she said._

_He nodded his head in agreement, "I've always got your six."_

_In time, they both broke that promise._

"Damnit Shepard," Garrus swore angrily, punching the dash in frustration. The elder Vakarian eyed his son sadly. Of all people, Tychus knew how heartbroken Garrus was.

The skycar swept into the parking garage of Garrus' apartment building. He eased it down gently. Upon exiting the vehicle, Garrus turned toward his father, placing both arms on the top of the car.

"You're going to meet a wide range of people I've worked with, Dad," Garrus warned. "Some of their identities can, by no means, get out to the public. Others do not take kindly to insult or racism. Mercs, soldiers, doctors, biotics, asari, humans, quarians, krogans, I've worked with them all. If there is one thing we have in common, it's our fierce loyalty to Shepard. Whatever has happened to her or whoever is behind it, it's personal now, not only to myself, but to every member of her crew."

"I know we very rarely agree on much of anything. But Garrus, I want this. I don't care if it's the damn Shadow Broker or that crazy asari that claims to rule Omega, I'm coming with you."

Garrus had a feeling his father would be eating his own words before too long.

* * *

**Updated 5/18/13**


	6. Only an Illusion

_You can have the money and the world,_

_The angels and the pearls,_

_Even trademark the color blue…_

* * *

_She woke up, shivering in the cold night air. Glancing swiftly around her, she discerned she was lying on an abandoned park bench, rotted wood creaking beneath her. _

_She sat into an upright position, realizing she was clad in dark grey armor. Where she had gotten it from, she was unsure. It barely clung together and was broken, shattered, burnt, dented and scratched in every way possible. Some pieces of it were shred to bits, while others were missing entirely. It was utterly beyond repair._

_'I've been here before', she thought, struggling to remember, though she recognized nothing. Trees surrounded her, but they were bare, bereft of leaves, dead branches swaying eerily in a slight wind. The wind itself brought a scent of death and decay, filling her nostrils and causing her to wrinkle her nose in disgust. Dead grass littered the parched ground in small tufts. The whole area was devoid of life, a barren and ruined wasteland; death seeped from every crevice, haunting her. It was a scene born of nightmares._

_Wary of what lurked in the dark shadows, she observed her surroundings a bit more. Inky shades loitered on the outskirts of her vision, seemingly flickering in and out of existence. They whispered to her, disturbing her in a way she didn't believe to be possible._

_I am the vanguard of your destruction…_

_Had to be me…_

_I'll see you all when you get back…_

_There is a realm of existence… you cannot even imagine…_

_Come back, alive… it'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you…_

_Every part of her body scraped, cried and moaned as she stood from the bench. Underneath the ruined armor, her body showed no signs of damage, not even a solitary scratch or bruise. She couldn't figure out why she was in such terrible pain. _

_Her thoughts soon drifted to the voices she was hearing from the dark shades. She believed she recognized some of them, but couldn't quite place any._

_Her mind was a mess. She was unable to decipher much of their whisperings, though they sounded ominous, foreboding, warning her of some unforeseen threat. _

_She approached the nearest one, not daring to look at it completely, out of fear it might vanish. She reached out her hand in a desperate attempt to grasp something definitive, something real. As her hand passed through the shade, it disappeared into the ether._

_The shadows and the trees, the empty park bench and the dead grass suddenly fell away beneath her. She tumbled in darkness for what may have been an eternity, but could have been mere seconds. _

_Unexpectedly, her feet slammed into solid ground. Blinking the abrupt change of darkness to blinding light away, she began to distinguish where she was. _

_Pink and white cherry blossoms were in bloom on the trees surrounding her. Their sweet smell lingered in the air, driving away any remnants of death. She could hear several fountains trickling water. Balconies overlooked the large area while a set of main stairs ran up the middle to a large dais. She knew this is where the Council typically convened. _

_"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over Garrus," she heard an angry voice behind her say. Turning on heel, she saw the familiar face of a turian, though much younger and unscarred. _

_"Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian.  
I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren," the turian said._

_"Garrus?" she said, taking a step forward. He nodded, a shadow of confusion flitting across his plated face. _

_"What happened? Did the Crucible work? Are the Reapers dea-" she stopped abruptly. Something was off… she had done this… all of this before… _

_Cocking his head to one side, he said, "Commander? Are you alright?"_

_Someone placed an armored glove on her shoulder. It was Kaidan, naïve, cautious, wistful Kaidan. The person standing beside him though threw her off completely. She shook her head, not quite believing what she was seeing, "Ashley?"_

_Apprehension was flitted across the gunnery chief's features. _

_"Yes, Commander?" she said slowly._

_"You can't be real… You died on Virmire… the bomb…,"_

_Ashley took a step back, alarmed. _

_For a second time, everything shifted…_

_She was on Virmire, the planet etched her mind forever. A red holo flickered before her, mocking her. Garrus and a much younger Liara stood on either side of her, trepidation written upon both their faces._

_"Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything," Sovereign threatened. _

_She snorted, "We exist because you allow it, demand our ending, the vanguard of our destruction. I get it. I know what you are and I 've already blown your kind from the sky." She waved her hand dismissively. _

_She wanted the hell out of this place, out of her mind. She was beginning to understand this was not reality, her frustration and rage quickly rising. _

_Quite unexpectedly, Sovereign's holo transformed, and she was left staring at an eerie image of herself. _

_"You chose wrong, organic," it intimidated in a voice not entirely her own. "Even after all this time, you can not comprehend our existence. And as we extinguish all organic life from this realm, you will truly see us for what we are… and you will beg for death before the end… We await your arrival Shepard."_

_Everything went black, and she knew no more._

* * *

Garrus thrashed himself awake. Twisted in a single sheet, he rolled off his couch and onto the cold, hard floor with a resounding _thud_. He laid there for a few moments, trying to recall where he was. Wincing, he pulled a mug he had landed on, out from underneath him. He loosened himself from the sheet and chucked it on the couch.

Ever since returning home, after spending the majority of the last four years aboard the _Normandy_, Garrus found himself unable to sleep in a turian bed more often than not. During the most recent stint, he had wound up sleeping in Shepard's quarters, becoming accustomed to the softness of the Alliance bed. She had complained military beds were too hard, but Garrus found himself preferring them versus what he was used to.

He ran a hand over his fringe. The dream had utterly terrified him. And while bits of the dream slipped away with every waking moment, the last part alarmed him the most. It had all seemed so real, particularly the feeling of dread it had left inside him. He let out a long, low sigh just as Liara rounded the corner, coming from his guest bedroom.

"Bad dream, huh?" she asked, not sounding surprised.

"Yeah, a waste of good sleep, if you ask me," he muttered. The asari walked past him over to the large picture window in the living room, overlooking the streets. Cars still buzzed to and fro, people continued to walk the shattered pathways, and a slight wind blew through several stark looking trees across the road.

Garrus followed her path to the window and leaned against it, his arms crossing over his bare carapace. Scars etched across his body, discolored in the ambient light from the streets. He was no longer the same turian he was in his C-Sec days. Hell, even as he saw his faint reflection in the window, he thought he didn't even look the same.

"Does it still hurt?" Liara asked him, nodding toward the large scar on his abdomen put there by the shrapnel from that damn Mako. Garrus glanced down at it, shrugging.

"I suppose whenever I twist the wrong way or make any sudden movements, they all twinge a bit, reminding me that we've been through hell and back." He rolled his shoulders, his bones creaking, making several god-awful sounds. "What about you?"

"I get headaches. Not sure why exactly but sometimes they're severe enough to be nearly debilitating,"

"I don't suppose any of us came out of the war without some sort of scar," Garrus said slowly.

"I suppose we haven't," said Liara, frowning. The pair stood in the dark of the apartment for some time in silence, allowing the soft lights to wash over them.

"What do you think our chances are Garrus? I mean of finding her… alive?" Liara whispered to him finally.

"Shepard used to ask me what our odds were all the time…," he said deliberately.

"I think she was always so unsure of herself. Not others, mind you, but always of herself," she said.

"More toward the end, she was… In the beginning, she thought she could do anything, and she was full of herself… spirits she had an ego," Garrus allowed himself a brief chuckle. "After Cerberus brought her back though, she realized she wasn't invincible. She became more cautious, aware that more than just her life was at stake. The fate of the galaxy literally depended upon her, and she finally cracked, right in front of me, the night before the attack on the Cerberus station,"

He paused for a moment before breathing a sigh of regret, "I should have been there, Liara. I should have been there in that final push to the beam,"

"You mustn't blame yourself for that though. We were both injured. I would do it all over again if it meant I could have gone with her as well...," she quickly changed the subject. "You know… I've been jealous of your relationship with her Garrus, even from the start," Liara said sheepishly.

Garrus tilted his head, surprised at Liara's confession. She held her hands up defensively, a smirk playing across her lips, "Sorry, I've given you the wrong impression. What I meant was, I've always been a bit envious of how close the two of you were… are… Even during the hunt for Saren, when she was with Kaidan, she preferred your company above any one."

"Don't sell yourself short, Liara. She always spoke very highly of you. She saw you as a sister, a best friend. And I consider you… all of you… even Wrex, as family. A strange family… Yeah… But a family regardless…," his voice strayed off as Liara smiled, tears streaming down her freckled, blue face.

"Thank you Garrus… That certainly means a lot to me,"

"And to answer your question… I've lost a lot of hope over the last six months. And they've been a long six months, mind you, but my gut is telling me she may not be alive, all we'll have are a corpse and distant memories," he paused, not wanting to dwell on the possibility. Placing a claw over his chest, he continued, "My heart, on the other hand, is screaming we'll find her alive and extremely pissed we didn't find her sooner."

Liara chuckled, wiping her eyes, "I think it's about time to try for some more sleep. We have a big day in front of us, and an even bigger undertaking ahead. Goodnight." The asari turned and walked back to the guest bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her. Garrus returned to his couch, hoping it wouldn't take him long before he was asleep.

Tychus stood behind the door of Garrus' bedroom, where he was supposed to be sleeping. He had unintentionally overheard his son and the asari speaking about Shepard as he had awoken to grab a glass of water. Listening to their conversation, it pained Tychus how much he really didn't know about Garrus' life. It hurt even more to know how personally Garrus took losing his commander… his bond mate. The thought still made Tychus a bit more uncomfortable than he was willing to admit. But Garrus was right, it was time for petty differences to be set aside, unless they wanted to destroy each other, and becoming like the Reapers, bent on annihilating one another.

He thought briefly of his wife, and longed to hold her again, hoping one day he may be at peace with her.

* * *

**Updated 5/18/13**


	7. Rendezvous

_Just like the tower we never built,_

_In the shadow of all the guilt,_

_When the other hand was pointed at you…_

* * *

Garrus tossed his black tactical bag into the small cargo hold of the passenger ship. In two days' time, the trio would be boarding the _Normandy_ to convene with Admiral Hackett to examine and discuss Liara's findings. They were unsure of who else they would be meeting, as Liara had not received any messages from the Alliance Admiral other than the one stating they needed to rendezvous as soon as possible.

He had dispatched a memo to Aurelia the previous night, instructing her to bring the space hamster from his office, along with several datapads and orders on what to do while he was away. He was pleased to see she arrived 15 minutes prior to their departure, with the furry creature in a portable tank. Taking the animal carefully from her, he handed it directly to Liara who was already situated in the compact cabin.

"Thank you. Shepard will kill me if I don't bring Boo back to her," he said, mandibles twitching in a slight grin.

"Sir, I pray I'm not overstepping my boundaries… but what makes you so sure she's still alive?" she asked wringing her hands together, uneasiness seeping through her dual toned voice.

Garrus paused before speaking again, contemplating his answer. He decided honesty was the best course of action, "Truth be told? I'm not so sure. But if I'm ever going to find any sort of closure, I need to find her, or at least, figure out what happened."

"I pray to the spirits you do recover what it is you're looking for. And I'm sure that if she didn't make it, then she's somewhere among the stars… waiting for you," she said, staring at her feet, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"That's a very nice sentiment, Aurelia," Tychus said, coming to stand beside Garrus.

Aurelia's eyes widened. Nearly forgetting herself, she snapped to attention and bowed exceedingly low.

Garrus had forgotten how much weight and influence his clan's name pulled. His father had done a considerable amount of work in his military and C-Sec days to see that it did. Now Garrus, whether he wanted to or not, was following in his father's footsteps bringing much honor back to the Vakarian name. Rumor had it, a Vakarian of old had disgraced the name, bringing shame and humiliation to the clan for generations. It wasn't until the last several decades, did the name start to mean something again. Garrus never cared much for honor or a name. He only did what he thought was truly right. Even during his stint on Omega, his mantra had been "whatever it takes". After all, he wasn't a very good turian. Though he supposed, it was due in part because he spent so much time among the other races. Perhaps their influence had rubbed off on him more than he realized.

"Detective Vakarian!" Aurelia said, awe in her words. "It's an honor sir."

Tychus nodded in acknowledgement, "The honor is mine."

"Aurelia, I'm sending you files I've prepared," Garrus said, tapping open his omni-tool and pulling up a number of files. "It's a protocol I've devised in case of my absence. I arranged it some time ago, in the hopes that it could be utilized. It gives instructions on what to tell the hierarchy, the press and the turian people."

He sent her the documents at once, "As far as anyone is concerned, I am attending a summit with the other races to discuss the reconstruction of the Citadel. You'll find several quarian admirals' signatures as well has a krogan warlord's, a message from the Shadow Broker and a letter from Alliance Command, all requesting this summit, should any become suspicious. They can all be reached on vid comm should the need arise, as well."

"Sounds like you've covered everything, Primarch," Aurelia said, glancing through the files.

"One more thing, should anything happen to me, a message will be sent to the hierarchy of my demise, additionally requesting that a particular aid I know keep her job with the new Primarch. Though, I must admit, a new Primarch may be a bit friendlier than I've been," Garrus said with a sad smile.

"You have your reasons sir. Thank you," Aurelia said, bowing. "And good luck!" She waved and turned on heel and departed the way she had come.

Garrus threw a sideways look at his father saying, "Ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Tychus. And with that, the two turians climbed into the small ship and found their seats beside Liara.

* * *

As their journey started, Garrus tried to busy himself by taking apart his targeting visor, again. He had already made a dozen improvements on it and upgraded its software. Even with all the etched names, scratches, and it being broken to pieces three times, it was still better than any other on the market. He knew because he had already looked.

Liara let Boo out of his container to roam around the cabin and stretch his tiny little legs. Garrus watched the hamster for a while, run back and forth under the seats. When he had finally tired himself, Boo shimmied his way up Garrus's leg and torso, and found a warm, comfortable spot in the cowl of his suit, just by his right ear.

Shortly after Boo fell asleep, curled up in a furry ball, Tychus eyed the hamster out of the corner of his eye.

"Alright, I have to ask… what the hell is that?" he said, a slight look disdain upon his face. Keeping his eyes on his visor, Garrus let out a low chuckle.

"It's called a space hamster," he said. "It's a souvenir pet from the Citadel."

"I don't think I've ever seen something so small have so much hair…,"

Liara snorted into her hand, "He belongs to Shepard, and she gets quite angry if anyone tries to mess with him."

"I don't know why she insisted on buying him in the first place," Garrus recalled. "She couldn't even keep her fish alive. Yet she swore up and down she would take care of this thing."

"How _did_ she manage to keep him alive after all this time?" Liara asked.

"She didn't… I wound up feeding the damn thing."

Liara threw her crested head back, in a fit of laughter. "Do you remember when her clone tried to get rid of him? 'Please send this to an animal shelter for proper disposal'!"

"She was pissed! I'm surprised she didn't fly into a fit of rage after that and try to strangle a Reaper with her bare hands," Garrus sniggered.

"Knowing her though, she probably would have done it and succeeded. I mean she did take down that Reaper on Rannoch," Liara said.

"Don't forget, she summoned 'the mother of all thresher maws' to the one on Tuchanka!"

Tychus threw up a hand, "Excuse me? Clone? Mother of all thresher maws?"

Over a better portion of the rest of their flight, Garrus and Liara relayed their accounts to Tychus. They told him what they knew about the attack on Earth, discovering the plans to the Crucible, and all subsequent events following the invasion of Palavan and Menae. Though they told him nearly everything, they did leave out bits here and there; Tychus didn't need to know _everything_ just yet. Garrus did have to admit, some parts of their tale sounded ridiculous when told aloud. Tychus listened just as he had when Garrus had recounted his tale of the Collectors and the Omega 4 Relay.

They even told his father of the month they were stranded on an unknown jungle planet after the firing of the Crucible. The _Normandy_'s system had been fried from the blast, and it had taken Tali and a dozen engineers to make the repairs necessary for an extended FTL flight back home. The relay system had been disabled from the events as well, leaving countless ships stranded all over the galaxy. Garrus knew it had taken months for some of them to be repaired as turians were still returning to Palaven every day. He still was a bit unsure of exactly what the Crucible had done in order to take out ships, synthetics, and the relay system. But everything was slowly beginning to turn around and return to normal.

In turn, Tychus told Liara and Garrus how he and Solana had been evacuated to the outskirts of the Sol system after they fled Palavan.

"We're being intercepted," the pilot of their small ship said over the intercom, jerking the trio from their conversation. Garrus jumped up and pushed his way toward the cockpit to take a better look.

They had just exited the Charon Relay, and an Alliance Kodiak was doing all it could to block their path.

Another voice interrupted them, "This is Alliance Command. We request you allow us to dock and transfer your passengers. You will then turn around and proceed to leave the way you came."

Though the circumstances were strange, Garrus immediately recognized the voice as Steve Cortez. He glanced at Liara who nodded, showing she understood who it was. Tychus was about to say something, his cop instincts shouting that something wasn't right, but Garrus shook his head to silence him.

"I suggest you do as he says," Garrus said to the pilot gently. The veteran pilot muttered angrily under his breath and opened the cargo bay doors. Thanking him, Garrus, Liara and Tychus, released the hatch in the cabin that lead to the cargo hold. Dropping below deck, they watched as the Kodiak eased itself inside. The bay doors finally sealed shut with a hiss, and Cortez jumped from the shuttle to greet Garrus and Liara with firm handshakes and a welcoming smile.

"It's good to see the both of you in one piece," he said.

"Likewise. So how have you been?" Garrus asked. Cortez shook his head, "No time for pleasantries. Hackett wanted you on base three hours ago."

"I thought we were boarding the _Normandy_…," said Liara.

"Not yet. There's been a slight change of plans. Can't discuss it all right now, but we need to get you out of here and this passenger ship back through the relay ASAP,"

With a quick introduction of Garrus' father, hey loaded their bags and the space hamster into the Kodiak. Exiting the passenger ship, Cortez swung the shuttle around to watch the other ship head back to the relay. When it hesitated a moment too long, he fired a warning shot to its left. With that, the small ship whipped around and hauled itself out of the system.

"Can't be too careful," muttered Cortez.

"Steve, what's with all the secrecy? Did Hackett find something else?" Liara asked. Tychus stood up straight, speaking, "I don't like this much either. I'd at least prefer a bit of an idea of what we're getting ourselves into."

"I understand, but if you can wait just a little longer…," said Cortez. The shuttle pilot pointed out the window, ahead of them, as they rounded Jupiter's largest moon. Three sets of eyes followed his finger. Orbiting Ganymede was one of the largest single species space stations Garrus had ever seen in his life. As it came fully into view, he noticed it had numerous docking ports scattered around it. A huge crane was attached to the top side, confirming that it was not yet completed. Four similar looking Alliance dreadnoughts hovered around the station like giant watch dogs. The station was certainly a sight to behold.

"Welcome to Aurora Station. It's become the guardian of the Sol system," Cortez said with a melancholy visage. Garrus' heart nearly lurched out of his chest as he heard the name of the station. "Obviously named for a famous Commander who risked her life on countless occasions to make sure that we would all see another day and a new era," said Cortez.

"The name is certainly fitting," said Liara, placing a hand on Garrus' shoulder.

* * *

**Updated 5/18/13**


	8. Parents Themselves

_Yeah, the first step is the one you believe in,_

_The second one might be profound…_

* * *

**_Reapers… Catalyst… Dark… Indoctrination… Being… Lazarus… Cerberus… Light… Energy…_**_ These were not her thoughts… She didn't know where they came from, but they sounded as if they were from the mind of a mad man. _

_She knew she was strapped to a table. She could feel her bare skin against the cold, hard metal and the shackles around her wrists, ankles and torso, but she couldn't bring herself to lift even just a finger or crack her eyelids. _

_For only the third time in her life, she was terrified beyond comprehension. The first was the during the Skyllian Blitz, after she watched the last of the civilians helping her hold off the batarian pirates fall beside her. The second was the night before the attack on the Cerberus station and the final assault on Earth. She had been so unsure if they had done everything necessary to defeat the Reapers. _

_Hell, as it stood, she still didn't know if they had won…_

_She had slowly gained consciousness over the last several… hours?... days?... She was uncertain of how much time had actually passed. With every fleeting moment, she remembered a bit more of who she was and of the events that had come to pass, bringing her to her current predicament. Her thoughts raced as she tried to separate fiction from reality and sift through these notions she was convinced were not her own. _

**_Reapers… Catalyst… Dark… Indoctrination… Being… Lazarus… Cerberus… Light… Energy…_**_ They repeated themselves over in her mind again and again, like an old broken record. They became a chant, or a litany that would soon drive her mad if she couldn't escape her own head. _

_Aside from them… __**Reapers… Indoctrination… Light…**__ she could hear voices around her… Doctors? Nurses? Scientists? They didn't belong to anyone she could recall, and it didn't help she was unable to comprehend their mutterings. She could feel them probing nearly every fragment of her body with tools and sharp objects. _

_She was aware she had sustained a massive number of injuries, every inch of her augmented body screaming in agony. And not for the first time, she wondered why her cybernetics hadn't at the very least numbed the pain. _

**_Light… Dark… Catalyst…_**_ The repetition was maddening…_

_She began to question if anyone would find her before she would become a shell of her former self, driven mad by her inane ramblings._

_Her thoughts drifted to a number of people as her memories came back. Her father disappeared when she was five. Ashley stayed behind on Virmire. Mordin… Thane… Legion… Anderson… herself…_

_She had to muster what resolution she had left and figure a way out of this situation… She was supposed to meet someone… someone…_

**_Reapers… Catalyst… Dark… Indoctrination…_**

_I want something to go right. Just once, just…_

_May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead…_

_If this thing goes sideways and we both end up there, meet me at the bar…_

_Retire somewhere warm and tropical and live off the royalties…_

_Come back alive… It'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you…_

**_Being… Lazarus… Cerberus… Light… Energy…_**

_Oh god- Garrus!_

* * *

The hangar itself was massive. It could have easily held five _Normandy_ SR-2s and a hundred engineers for each one. Currently there were three Alliance dreadnoughts in the last stages of construction. There were no hangar doors, though an enormous mass effect field held the vacuum of space at bay. If this was only a fraction of the station, Garrus had a difficult time trying to imagine how large the rest of it was, or how many people it was able to house. The station was filled with life.

He watched the engineers perform stress tests on the ships, maintenance workers check and recheck systems from the traffic room, through glass windows overlooking the bay. When they had arrived at Aurora Station, Admiral Hackett had swiftly briefed them and asked Garrus to take a second look at the vid in an attempt to find anything that may give them a lead. Hackett left shortly after, saying he would be back in a bit, where they would convene with whoever else Hackett was waiting for.

When the Admiral returned several hours later, Garrus, Tychus and Liara had watched the vid another half dozen times and compiled a laundry list of possible leads, none of which were completely solid, but better than what they previously had.

Hackett entered the traffic room followed by a number of people Garrus knew and some of whom he was startled to see. Jeff "Joker" Moreau, James Vega, Tali'Zorah, Urdnot Wrex, Samantha Traynor, Kaidan Alenko, and Miranda Lawson greeted him and Liara with friendly smiles, handshakes and in some cases even hugs. Garrus introduced each to his father as they passed through.

Before Hackett could lock the door, Javik sidled in to the surprise of nearly everyone present. The prothean looked around, eyebrows turned inward.

"The asari insisted I be present for this," he said, folding his arms and leaning casually against a console.

"What in the spirits' names is that?" Tychus asked, bending close to Garrus' ear.

"Prothean," Garrus hissed as Hackett began to pace around the room.

"Time is of the essence, so I'll get right to it. I have summoned all of you here because you are either the best or knew Shepard on a personal level,"

Garrus cleared his throat loudly, causing Hackett to pause, "_Know _her… Sir,"

"We'll get to that Vakarian. Several days ago, we received intelligence from the Shadow Broker," Hackett eyed Liara. "A vid feed more precisely. It shows what we believe to be… Well let's just watch and you can judge for yourself… Liara, if you would please."

Nodding, Liara opened her omni-tool, tapped a couple of windows, and brought the feed onto the large screen on the back wall. Before she could hit 'play', there was a knock on the door, and a final woman entered.

"About time Admiral. I was starting to think you weren't going to show," Hackett said.

The woman crossed the room and shook Hackett's hand. She was light skinned, with a number of freckles dotting her face and bare shoulders. Gun oil and resin permanently stained her fingers and hands. She wore a white sleeveless shirt, military fatigues and combat boots, her Admiral's jacket slung casually over her shoulder. Her hair was a light red, with several streaks of white jutting from her scalp. It was tied in a tight military knot at the back of her head, several strands falling into her face. Age lines and at least two scars marred her features.

"Steven, you know me better than that. My daughter's life hangs in the balance," she said.

The newcomer turned to face every one present. Garrus felt a sharp intake of breath throughout the room. Despite her age, Garrus recognized those blazing blue eyes instantaneously before Hackett could even make a proper introduction. She was a bit rougher looking than Garrus had imagined.

"Everyone, this is Admiral Hannah Shepard. She will be helping with this operation."

Liara was still standing next to the screen with her omni-tool opened. "Shall I continue?" she asked, finger hovering above the play screen.

Admiral Shepard nodded, "Please."

As the vid began, the entire room fell into silence, every person seemed to be holding their breath as one as they watched.

The surveillance feed was somewhat grainy and no audio was available. The camera the feed had come from was mounted above head height in a corner. It was able to move about to take in every angle of the small, sterile room and to track the movements of all within.

Medical supplies were laid out on a cart at the foot of a metal slab. A body was sprawled out on the slab, bound at the wrists, ankles and midsection. Though the face was blocked from camera view by a salarian doctor, Garrus was able to recognize a number of identifying marks. A number of people in lab coats shifted about, tapping notes into omni-tools. The salarian doctor at the head of the table wiped his brow, tossed a glistening scalpel onto another cart and pulled away his face mask. Looking quite pleased with himself, he took a step back from the table, signaling the others in the room to do the same. He drew a small box resembling some sort of transmitter from the depths of his lab coat and pressed a button.

The body reeled from side to side, back arching, causing the doctor and scientists to take another step back, fear crossing their faces. Camera focusing in on the body, the face was revealed. It was a woman, mouth opened in a silent scream, face etched in agony. She appeared to have sustained countless injuries either from the events of the Crucible or those that followed. She looked as if she had been tortured and put through a number of horrific medical procedures Garrus dared not to think about. She was also much thinner than he remembered, obviously malnourished. She was a skeleton and a shadow of the woman he loved, though in his heart he knew this had to be the real Shepard.

Her entire body began to glow in a brilliant light, flooding the entire room. Restraints broke free and her hands lit up as she thrust a devastating Reave at the salarian doctor. He was forced into a standing position, features twisted and writhed in torment, before he crumbled to the floor, twitching from the neurological effects the biotic power had on him. She wreaked havoc on the remaining scientists and even managed to grab a pistol from a guard lying in a corner.

Quite suddenly, she threw her head back in pain, clawing at her face before she herself collapsed to the floor. A shade shifted from underneath the camera. It moved into the light of the room and glanced down at the shuddering woman at his feet. He turned around, faced the camera, revealing his face and switched off the feed.

The vid ended with static fuzz.

Hannah Shepard was the first to speak, "That son of a bitch-" Her voice shook with rage, as she overturned the table sitting in the middle of the room.

Garrus approached her carefully, "Admiral?"

She ignored him, and turned to walk out of the room. Upon reaching the door, she whipped around and looked at the small group, fury darkening her face, "That man at the end of the vid there? None of you know who he is, do you?' she spat vehemently, her eyes wet with tears. "That is my estranged husband, Cyrus Shepard, and Aurora's fucking father!"

Hannah Shepard slammed the door behind her as she left, leaving the room in a stunned silence.

* * *

**Updated 5/18/13**

**Thank you to everyone for your continued support, for all the follows, favorites and reviews!**


	9. Evidence and Details

_I'll follow you down, through the eye of the storm,_

_Don't worry I'll keep you warm…_

* * *

Moments after Hannah Shepard exited, the entire room erupted in confusion and downright anger.

"Keelah!" Tali whispered behind her mask, shaking her head.

"What the shit was that?!" Joker shouted at the vid screen.

"Liara! Where did that come from?" Traynor asked.

"After everything that has happened, how can we even be sure that's the real Shepard?" Kaidan Alenko stated.

Garrus couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. He took a threatening step toward the Major, disregarding his father's hand on his shoulder, "Are you kidding me?" he growled, his subharmonics teeming with rage. "You're doubting her _again_? After everything she's done for you? After the shit you said on Horizon? After she saved you're ass and let you back on her ship?!"

"Are you questioning my feelings for her? I _never_ stopped loving her. I don't even know why she got with you in the first place," the Major said boldly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Because I was there for her!" Garrus shouted, standing up to a threatening height.

"Kaidan, listen to yourself," Liara said gently. "You're being unreasonable…"

"Unreasonable? Is trying to move on after two years, thinking the woman I loved is dead, unreasonable? Was I so wrong to question if it was really her on Horizon? Or question if Cerberus had done something to her?" Kaidan said furiously. "Or the fact that she completely disregarded me in favor of a _turian_?"

"Is that what this is about? Jealousy?" Tali exclaimed.

"Primitives," muttered Javik from his corner, shaking his head and looking faintly amused.

Garrus clenched both his fists. He swore to whatever spirits listening, if the Major said just one more word… He could feel Archangel creeping steadily back to the surface.

"Alenko, I know for a fact that_ is_ Shepard. You don't work on someone for two years to bring them back without knowing every minor detail about them," Miranda said coolly.

Kaidan's fists glowed a faint blue, and Garrus placed a hand on his sidearm, ready to draw it, should the need arise.

"STAND DOWN! ALL OF YOU!" Hannah Shepard bellowed everyone present. She had stormed back through the door without anyone taking notice. "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. My daughter is out there, fighting for her life and you're all here squabbling over her like a bunch of angsty juveniles!"

"Now I see where Shepard gets her temper from," Wrex rumbled thoughtfully.

Garrus shifted back beside his father, not daring to meet those blue eyes, while Kaidan hung his head apologetically, his biotics dying, muttering, "Sorry Ma'am."

An awkward silence hung in the air, until Hackett cleared his throat.

"Hannah, you mentioned the man in the vid? Your husband? He's-"

"Aurora's father? Yeah, that son of a bitch is her father," Admiral Shepard spat in disgust. Kneading her eyes with her fingers, she continued, "He left us, when Aurora was five. At first, I believed he had been killed by batarian pirates. At the time of his disappearance, he was working on Omega with a salarian STG who went by the name Mordin Solus-"

"Mordin? The same pyjak that cured the genophage?" Wrex growled, disbelief showing on his scarred features.

Hannah Shepard shrugged, "Possibly. I can't know for sure. Cyrus and the people he worked with often used aliases to cover their tracks. The work he did was frequently dangerous. Not many people would take kindly to the types of things he was developing or studying."

"Yup, that certainly sounds like our pyjak friend, alright," said Wrex.

"So what happened to him, Admiral," Miranda said almost too eagerly. Hannah Shepard arched an eyebrow, "You're the one that saved my daughter after the Collector attack on the SR-1?" Miranda nodded slowly.

"I never thanked you properly for that, Miss Lawson. Without her, I don't know where we would be right now."

Miranda flashed the Admiral a fleeting smile, and inclined her head in response.

"Anyways, I thought he had been taken out by pirates, or, at the very least, mercenaries. But then, a number of years later, that bastard contacted me. He wanted to see his daughter."

Garrus could hear the bitterness in Hannah Shepard's voice, bubbling to the surface. This was all new to him, and he found it odd that Shepard had never mentioned her father, not once, in the years he had worked with her, known her, developed a relationship with her. But on the other hand, he had never mentioned his mother to her…

"Just as any respectable mother would do, I told him to fuck off. He made all sorts of lousy excuses. 'He was working to save humanity.' 'He was indisposed.' 'He was working with Cerberus to bring humanity to the apex of the galaxy.'

Miranda straitened, holding up a hand and interrupting, "Wait, your husband worked for Cerberus?"

"Yes, I believe he was working on something called Project Aleya… or so he said. Though he never told me what it entailed. Do you know it?"

Miranda shook her ebony head, "No I don't… Strange… I once thought I knew everything about Cerberus, but I'm beginning to see the Illusive Man didn't tell me much of anything."

Disappointment flooded Hannah Shepard's face. "Well that's neither here nor there, I suppose. The important thing is finding my daughter."

"I may be able to contact some of my old… associates… from Cerberus, see if I can scrounge up any information about this Project Aleya," Miranda reassured. "I'll contact Jacob Taylor. That wife of his may know something. It's a long shot, but…"

"But it's a good place to start… Thank you," finished Admiral Shepard.

Hackett looked at Garrus, and he knew it was his turn to present his findings from the vid. Garrus swallowed nervously before speaking, "There are a number of clues we found while reviewing the security footage." He brought opened his omni-tool interface and tapped 'rewind' until he reached the beginning of the vid and paused it. "The first thing we found was this is indeed Cerberus. Or at least a Cerberus facility or ship." He pointed to a small horizontal C located in the upper right hand corner of the vid, plastered on a wall behind a doctor.

"Second of all, there is not a doubt in my mind that this is the real Shepard," Garrus continued, eyeing Kaidan who was shifting uncomfortably across the room. He forwarded the vid to the first frame of Shepard's body lying on the metallic table. "As you can clearly see, Shepard has her ID numbers tattooed down the side of her thigh. Don't believe me?" He pulled Shepard's dog tags from around his neck and tossed them to Hackett. "They are identical to the ones on these." Hackett compared the tags to the paused vid. "She had them tattooed on after the Lazarus Project… in case something happened again… she wanted…," Garrus swallowed hard. "She wanted her body to be easily identified…"

Nodding resolutely, Hackett handed them to Admiral Shepard.

She glanced at the tags, a deep and overwhelming sadness overtaking her. "Where did you find these?" She asked, clutching them tightly to her chest.

Garrus couldn't even bring himself to look into those eyes… her eyes… his Shepard's eyes… blue, defiant, blazing, full of life…

"She gave them to me before the final push toward the beam," his voice shook with every word, reflecting the same sorrow the Admiral had upon her face. There was a brief moment of silence around the traffic room before Garrus decided he ought to continue.

"After viewing the footage several times over, I believe I know who that salarian doctor is," he said motioning toward the vid screen. "I'm almost positive it's Maelon Heplorn."

"That lizard who was experimenting on the krogan females on Tuchanka?" Javik asked. Wrex shifted his attention to the prothean. Javik shrugged, "The Mordin salarian informed me of the situation."

"They're amphibian, Javik," Liara said through gritted teeth.

"As I've said before, they use to eat flies and lick their own eyes…"

"Would the two of you shut the hell up? You sound like an old married couple with your constant bickering," Joker groaned. Liara rolled her eyes, while Javik chuckled that sinister laugh of his.

"I thought he was working in his own clinic on Omega, after Shepard convinced Mordin not to kill him." Wrex said.

"If I can remember correctly that was before Cerberus took over the asteroid and Shepard helped Aria T'Loak take it back," Garrus said. Tychus frowned, "The same crazy asari that runs Omega?"

"Yes, father, the very same," Garrus said waving him off a bit more rudely than he intended.

"Shepard never mentioned seeing Maelon while she was there," Traynor mused.

"Maybe Cerberus captured him," Miranda stated.

"Or he volunteered to help them to save his own hide," Wrex said.

"That's exactly what I thought," said Garrus pointedly.

Hannah Shepard turned to face Liara, but not before eyeing Hackett. "So from what I understand we have our own Shadow Broker?"

Tychus dropped into a chair, shaking his fringed head in disbelief. Apparently he had not anticipated his son knowing such a large amount of people throughout the galaxy.

Liara nodded, "I'll see if I can dig anything up as to where he went after the Battle of Omega."

"Do you mind sending me a copy of the vid, Liara? I want to attempt to clear the footage up and restore a bit of the sound, if possible," said Traynor.

"Of course,"

Admiral Hackett stepped forward, "I want everyone to pull their resources, old contacts, files, and any discarded messages together. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that we find the Commander as soon as possible."

Garrus watched Hackett intently. After spending so much time aboard the _Normandy_, he was able to pick up on human expressions. The look of distress upon the Admiral's face was fleeting but unmistakable. He knew something he wasn't telling the rest of them, hiding something, and it made Garrus uneasy.

"We reconvene in 48 hours. Dismissed," Hackett saluted and left the room abruptly. The remaining members followed after him, speaking in low tones to one another pertaining to the topics discussed and the possibilities of where their Commander may or may not be found.

Garrus faced his father, saying in almost a whisper, "The Admiral is hiding something from us. He knows something, and I don't like it."

"Son, he's a high ranking officer, of course he knows more than he's letting on. You have to respect the chain of command," Tychus said quietly.

As the traffic room emptied, Hannah Shepard walked over to Garrus, waiting patiently for him to finish his conversation with his father. Tychus took notice and his glance shifted to the Admiral. Garrus turned around, his heart rate quickly rising. He was leery of the conversation to come.

Hannah Shepard reached out and took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze and replacing the tags back in his palm.

"If she gave you these, I… I want you to have them. Aurora once told me that I wouldn't approve of her relationship, and when I found out she was with a turian, I was livid... furious... She knew I fought in the First Contact War," she said. Garrus' mandibles went slack. He was at a loss for words. "But several of the _Normandy_'s crew members found it necessary to tell me that you were different. I know how much you care for her, Vakarian, and I wouldn't want anyone else to lead this expedition."

She turned to face Tychus, "You've raised a good son. Any parent ought to be proud of what he's accomplished."

"I'm starting to realize how true that is, Admiral," Tychus said. She shook both their hands once more and left the room, following after the others.

As it was, Garrus thought, things didn't turn out quite the way he had imagined they would, but it was a good start, minus Hackett not being completely truthful. Hopefully the rest of this operation would go just as well, though he had his reservations about it. Straightforward and easy missions were few and far between when it came to Shepard's crew, and there was no reason that this one would be any different.

* * *

**Work has been insane, apologies for the delay of the last few chapters, but updates are going to be once a week from now on... probably on Sat, Sun or even Mon... but again a huge thanks to reviews and faves and follows!**


	10. Take Flight

_I'll follow you down, while we're passing through space,_

_I don't care if we fall from grace…_

* * *

_The door was shut. Voices could be heard from down the hall and on the first level. The party had been a success, though with tomorrow, shore leave came to an end and the crew would be back aboard the Normandy to resume their involvement in the war. The festivities were settling down for the night as guests finally began to pass out on whatever surface they found most comfortable. The bedroom was spinning, and they both had a bit more than their fair share to drink. _

_Shepard was down to an N7 tank top and a pair of tiny, black, tight shorts. She had stripped off the majority of her clothes, complaining how hot she was. She already had Garrus pinned down on the bed. She giggled as she slipped her hands through his unzipped top, hastily ripping it off his carapace, perhaps a bit too eagerly. He swore he heard her purr as she kissed the side of his neck. He knew he would soon follow suit if she kept this up. _

_After several moments more of teasing him, she jumped off him and walked backwards to the bathroom, beckoning him to follow. _

_"Why… don't we take a cold shower, cool off a bit…," Shepard cooed seductively, and then added, "My damn implants don't seem to be working fast enough."_

_Garrus snorted and swung his legs over the side of the bed to follow her, but not before taking notice that she had stopped in the bathroom doorway._

_"What is it?" he asked. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, head turned down. _

_"What is it?" he repeated, walking behind her, peering over her shoulder. Shepard pointed to the bathroom floor with one hand, as the other suppressed a laugh. _

_Javik had his head in the toilet, clutching the sides of it with both his hands. He was still dressed in full armor, sick all over and looked utterly ridiculous. He slurred incoherently, his voice echoing off the inside of the bowl. Garrus caught only a few words as the prothean rocked back and forth on his knees. _

_"In my cycle… seek vengeance… throw them all out the airlock… tasty human beverage…," and with that, Javik spewed into his porcelain throne, triggering Shepard to quickly shut the door, her nose wrinkled in disgust._

_"He's survived two Reaper wars and 50,000 years… I think he'll survive hurling his insides out for one night," Shepard said with a wicked smirk. Garrus grabbed her around the waist with one hand as the other wrapped around the back of her neck. _

_"That's not very nice, Shepard," he whispered into her ear._

_"Maybe… you should teach me a lesson," she said alluringly. "I think he's out for the night, so there's not a chance he'll hear us."_

_Garrus mustered what strength he had in his semi-drunk stupor, and hoisted her into the air, carrying her to the bed. Laying her onto the already disheveled sheets, he climbed on top of her._

_Settling over her, he twisted her ember colored hair between his fingers, as she caressed his scarred mandible._

_"How did someone like you ever fall for someone like me?" he asked quietly, his subharmonics trembling. She went still for a moment, regarding him curiously. Her makeup was smeared a bit, and she had dark circles under her eyes, but it only made his heart pound more earnestly against his ribcage, knowing she was real, and not just an illusion. _

_She took his marred face in both her hands, lifting her head off the pillows to kiss him fully on the mouth. Laying her head back down, her hair spreading out like a halo, she sighed, "Garrus… you've always had my six. Your loyalty to me as a squadmate and as a friend has been unwavering, even from the beginning. I say 'jump', and you leap first to make sure the landing's okay. I trust you, more than I've trusted anyone in my life. You should know that by now…"_

_"I do… It's just good to hear you say it every once in a while," he said, his mandibles flaring into a cocky grin. She punched him playfully on the shoulder before saying, "I lov-"_

_Garrus immediately placed a talon over her lips, "Don't say it… Not yet, at least… I don't want you to speak it, and something happen to one of us before this war is over. I-"_

_"There's no Shepard without Vakarian… you know that… If you go, I go with you…" she said in a low tone. Garrus closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, breathing her scent in. _

* * *

Reality came flooding back and hit Garrus in the chest with the force of a dozen angry krogan. He was sitting in an office chair not made for turians. He and his father had temporarily taken up residence in an officer's room on the lower levels of Aurora Station.

Apparently having drifted off into a restless nap, Garrus rubbed his eyes and spun the chair around. His father was standing over him, his arm extended, as if he was the one who pulled Garrus from his dreams.

"Are you alright, Garrus?" Tychus asked. "You were mumbling in your sleep."

Garrus leaned forward in the chair, running a hand slowly over his fringe. The memories and the dreams did nothing to improve the situation. If anything, they made him more furious and impatient to find Shepard. Sitting around trying to find clues was not how he intended this to begin.

"I'm fine," he lied, standing up with a groan. His damn abdomen was throbbing again. On occasion, he regretted quitting his physical therapy too soon, but the life of a Primarch didn't leave much room for luxuries such as that. He figured, once they took flight, he might resume conditioning, go through the turian boot camp training once more. It was a rigorous exercise regimen, but he hoped it would take the edge off.

"I spoke with Solana…," Tychus said carefully.

"And?" Garrus said, pacing the length of the small room.

"And she apologizes for the things she said to you. Said she's been worked up since your mother passed, and you, running off again was the match in the powder barrel."

"Straw that broke the camel's back…," Garrus muttered. Tychus tilted his head at his son, confusion written all over his face. "Sorry… human expression. So I sent her over the edge?"

"She had it in her head we would return to a normal life… a normal family… after the war was over…," Tychus continued.

"Nothing's ever going to be the same though. She needs to realize that, Dad. She-"

"Your sister is ten years younger than you. Do you remember how brash and stubborn you were at her age?" the elder Vakarian asked. After a moment he said, amusement in his subvocals, "Spirits, Garrus, you're still as stubborn as they come."

Garrus' mandibles twitched into what could have passed as a smile, "I suppose some things _don't_ change."

"So what time doe we have to meet with Hackett?" Tychus asked, glancing at his opened omni-tool.

"In about 15 minutes. We should start to head up there now though,"

Both turians grabbed their tactical bags and left the room as they had found it, in the event they would not be returning. Walking through the corridors of the barracks to the elevators, several recruits saluted them as they passed. Upon reaching the end of the hall, Garrus spotted Wrex waiting for the elevator to come, two rookies eyeing the krogan with suspicion. Garrus noted that Wrex did nothing to alleviate their wariness. In fact, he jumped at the recruits with a growl, causing them to stubble backwards and take off in the opposite direction. Wrex leaned back with a satisfied chuckle.

The krogan warlord greeted them with his usual gruffness by nodding, "Garrus."

"Wrex," he said, shaking the krogan's hand before entering the elevator. "How's the family?"

"Bakara's fine, just popped out three little ones with another on the way,"

Garrus let out a long, low breath, "Uhh- Congratulations?"

"I told you we can pop 'em out fast."

Tychus shifted ever so slightly beside Garrus. Wrex took notice and said, "Don't worry old man. I'm not about to let my people become blood mongers again."

"Do you really think that you can make that happen?" Tychus asked.

"Already have. With the Reapers gone, we can focus on rebuilding Tuchanka, and restoring it to its former glory," Wrex declared proudly.

"I certainly hope-" Tychus paused as Wrex shot him a glare. The elder turian shifted course, wanting to avoid any more conflict than what was necessary, "Thank you, for the help on Palaven. You've proven the krogan can be trusted."

Wrex dipped his head in response just as the elevator doors slid open, revealing the corridor that led to the traffic room.

As they walked out of the elevator and rounded a corner, Tali hastened to meet them.

"Where have you been?" she breathed, exasperatedly. "Liara sent a message an hour ago. We've been waiting for you to get up here!"

Garrus glanced at his father and Wrex, both shrugging.

"Did someone find something?" he asked. Tali huffed and threw her hands into the air, "I can't believe you didn't get the message! Liara received another vid."

Garrus pushed past the quarian, and into the room. Hackett intercepted him before he could reach Liara. The Admiral placed a careful hand on Garrus' shoulder, looking him square in the eyes.

"I'm- I don't think you want to see this, son," he said solemnly. Garrus looked around the traffic room. There were only a handful of people sitting at the table. In fact, besides himself, his father, Wrex, Tali and Hackett, just Hannah Shepard and Liara remained. Liara, he saw, was sat beside Admiral Shepard, who had her head bent nearly to her lap, her hands covering her face and her shoulders shaking… as if she was crying.

"Admiral… with all due respect… I _need_ to see the footage," Garrus said, fear trembling on the edge of his dual toned voice.

"It's bad," Hackett said, turning to Liara. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Garrus quickly envisioned the worst possible scenario: Shepard dead before they ever had the chance to find her.

Liara hastily whispered some consoling words to Hannah Shepard. Standing up, she pressed 'play' on her omni-tool once more.

The vid was shot in the same room as before, except, this time there was sound. The same medical slab was propped up in the center of the room. Shepard was still strapped to it with ankles and wrists bound by metal clamps. Burns ran up and down one side of her body. Her head had been shaved and lolled to the side. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, and her blue eyes were glazed over and bleary.

"Bring me Shol, and she may not have to die," she said in a manner that was not entirely her own.

After several moments, her eyes slid back into focus, and she looked right at the camera… straight through wires and hardware, between time and space, and directly at Garrus, pleading in her own voice, "Please Garrus…"

Cyrus Shepard strode into view, fury and frustration etched upon his features. He back handed his daughter across her bruised and broken face, and switched off the camera.

Garrus felt a swell begin to take hold in his chest, a dark shadow rising from the depths of a long slumber. His vision began to sharpen, his senses heightened tenfold. It was as if he was hyped up on half a dozen stims all at once. He wanted to tear the room apart and shoot anyone that attempted to get in his way. An animalistic rage surged to the surface, and it was all Garrus could do to keep it in check. Rage was beginning to boil, and it wouldn't be long until all those involved would pay dearly for their mistakes.

"I want the _Normandy_," he said, his head buzzing, and Archangel finally emerging.


	11. Lift Off

_I'll follow you down to where forever lies_

_Without a doubt, I'm on your side…_

* * *

"I want the _Normandy_," Garrus repeated to a stunned Admiral Hackett.

"Vakarian, haven't you heard?" the Admiral said after composing himself. "The _Normandy_'s been decommissioned…"

"Excuse me?!" the turian said furiously.

Hannah Shepard stood, quickly wiping the away the tears, "What Steven says is true… The ship is in the first stages of disarmament."

"Then we get Alenko to release it under Spectre status," Garrus said.

"No… the Council is still in disarray. They have no power until the Citadel is rebuilt. Each species remains in control of its own space. So Alenko's Spectre status goes unrecognized until that time," Hackett said, shaking his head.

"Can't you release it?" Liara said desperately. Hackett calmly said, "My hands are tied. I signed off on the paperwork three weeks ago."

"You're the head of the damn Alliance military!" roared Garrus. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hackett had gathered them here to discuss a rescue mission but was barricading their only real chance of finding the Commander. The _Normandy_ had to be the ship used for this operation. Its stealth system was second to none, and its defensive capabilities were top of the line. It was one of the fastest ships in Council space, not to mention its impressive armament which Garrus had calibrated to perfection.

"This may be the perfect opportunity to take a leaf out of Captain Anderson's book, however," Hackett said, interrupting Garrus' thoughts.

At the same moment, Joker hobbled into the room and took a seat at the table, followed by Traynor and Cortez.

"What are you implying, sir," Traynor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I like where this is going," the flight pilot said, rubbing his hands together.

Admiral Hackett folded his hands behind his back and walked over to the large window that over looked the hangar, "What I meant to say was that if the _Normandy _somehow was stolen under the tight security of this station, and managed to get past the Charon Relay, there would be nothing I could do about it… I have a number of other issues that are a bit more pressing than a stolen warship…"

"Are you suggesting we steal the _Normandy_? The fastest, most expensive, and heavily guarded ship in the Alliance fleet?" Tychus asked incredulously, frowning. Garrus' mandibles flared in alarm, while Wrex grunted his approval, and Tali giggled ever so slightly.

"Steven, I don't like this…," Hannah Shepard said, folding her arms across her chest and sinking into one hip in a very Shepard sort of way.

"With all due respect ma'am, taking the _Normandy_ right from under the noses of the Alliance is a cake walk compared to what we've been through," Joker shrugged. "Besides, we've done it once before."

Admiral Shepard opened her mouth to argue, but quickly shut it, changing her mind.

Garrus was inclined to agree with him. This would be simple in comparison to Reapers, thresher maws, a rocket to the face and a homicidal clone.

"I will admit, when you do this, alarms will go off. You'll have at least a dozen fighters and two or three possible dreadnoughts on your ass trying to bring you down. As the head of the damn Alliance military, as Vakarian so eloquently put it, I will have issue a command to scramble warships," said Hackett.

Admiral Shepard sighed wearily, rubbing her eyes, "And what happens when they get back? Stealing an Alliance ship is treason, in the highest court."

"I'll see that it is not, especially when they find your daughter and bring her back," Hackett reassured.

"While I can't condone this in any way, I'm still coming with you," Hannah Shepard said defiantly, her blue eyes piercing Garrus to the core.

"Great! When do we leave?" Joker said enthusiastically. "I don't think I can stand around waiting much longer."

"Where exactly is the _Normandy_?" Liara said.

The briefest grin flashed across Admiral Hackett's face, "It's here, in a secured bunker on the lowest level. You'll need to hack your way in."

Tali snorted, "Easy enough."

"Garrus, do you have any ideas of where we should start?" Cortez asked.

"I have a few… But I think we should focus on getting past the Charon Relay first before we plot our course. And to answer Joker's question, we leave tomorrow. Liara, I want you to send an encrypted message to every member of the crew… the old crew… stating we leave tomorrow, if they want to help, great. If not, or they aren't here by 2300, we leave without them. We only get one shot at this," Garrus said turning to Cortez. "I want you in the cockpit with Joker. He-"

Joker interrupted, holding up a hand, "I can get us out of here myself. I don't need a co-pilot,"

"Joker, you're the best damn pilot I've ever seen, but for nearly two years, you had the help of an onboard AI," said Garrus.

"I got us off that damn jungle planet without EDI," the flight pilot said quietly. Garrus knew EDI was a sore spot for Joker to talk about, but once again, it was a reminder they had all lost someone over the course of the war.

So Garrus had to approach this tactfully, "We'll be pursued until we reach the relay. I just want two pairs of eyes to make sure we get out of the system in one piece, then she's all yours… Okay?"

Joker hung his head in defeat, "You got it boss."

"So it's settled. I want all updates and progress reports sent to my private terminal. With any luck, this will be quick and painless, and we'll have the Commander back where she belongs in no time," Hackett said.

"Doubtful. Nothing's ever quick and painless," Wrex grumbled.

"Seems the more trouble we have, the more successful we are," Tali said, shaking her helmet.

"An unfortunate sentiment, but also true," Liara said. There was a general mumble of agreement around the room.

"Good luck… to all of you," Hackett saluted and left the traffic room.

* * *

Thirty six hours later, Garrus found himself in a crowded corridor outside a large door that read "Hangar 18". Beside him stood his father and Liara, with Tali crouched next to the door panel, ready for orders to hack it. Behind him, Joker, Cortez, Traynor, Wrex, Javik, Miranda, Alenko, James Vega, Dr. Chakwas, and Admiral Shepard huddled together quietly, along with a small group of engineers who had worked onboard the _Normandy_ during the war. The engineers had been rounded up specifically by Traynor, as she knew who could be trusted.

"Bakara sends her regards… Doesn't like the fact that I'm going on a rescue mission, but I owe Shepard a personal favor for what she's done for my people. Also, Grunt says he wishes he could be here, but I told him to stay on Tuchanka," Wrex whispered.

"Sshh!" Garrus hissed, switching on his visor and syncing it with Tali's omni-tool. He could see the heat signatures of security and maintenance workers beyond the hangar door. There were at least three dozen personnel roaming lazily back and forth, in and around the ship. The ship itself, showed up as a black mass on his HUD. It was powered down and cold, meaning it would take several minutes for the core to heat up to a point where they could make a break for the relay. This was already turning into a bit more complicated than he had initially anticipated, and he let out a low, guttural growl to voice his frustration.

"Alright, I want everyone to switch to disruptor ammo and concussive shots only. I'd like to avoid any deaths, if possible," Garrus said, unfolding his Black Widow. Everyone followed suit, pulling pistols from holsters and disengaging magnetic locks on the back of their armor. He saw the orange tick on every gun light up as they switched their ammo, including the engineers.

"On the count of three, Tali hacks the lock, and we fan out, knocking out as many personnel as possible before they trigger the alarms. According to Hackett, once the alarms trip, we have between five and seven minutes before the fighters are scrabbled and launched," Garrus said scanning the faces of all those present. They all had the same resolute look of defiance, determined in their mindsets to get the job done.

"Joker, the second this door unlocks, I want you and Cortez to take the engineers, Dr. Chakwas, and Traynor to the ship. We need the _Normandy _powered up as soon as you get on it. I'll toss out some smoke bombs to cover you, and the rest of us will be onboard after the hangar is cleared." Garrus ordered.

The flight lieutenant looked doubtful, "I don't know Garrus. She's been shut down for quite some time. It'll take at least eight minutes before we can get her in the air, and that's pushing it."

"No matter how we look at it, it's going to be a tight squeeze," breathed Cortez.

"Story of our lives," Garrus muttered. "Tali?"

"Ready as I'll ever be…" the quarian dipped her head.

"Three… Two… One!"

Tali's fingers were lithe and swift as they moved across her omni-tool, then to the door panel. In next to no time, the lock turned green.

Nodding to all present, Garrus punched the lock and it slid open. The moment he spotted the first of the security force, he chucked several smoke bombs in their direction. Shouts erupted and gunfire went off immediately. Garrus signaled for Joker and Cortez to take off toward the ship, through the smoke. As they disappeared from view, he motioned for the rest of them to spread out, taking down personnel one by one as they went.

Though he wasn't killing anyone or anything, Garrus still reveled in the firefight. His heart raced and adrenaline surged through him as he sent a concussive shot towards a burly, white haired man fumbling with a heat sink. Politicians and political agendas were definitely not his style, but this… this was where he belonged, on the battlefield. He tapped a button on his targeting visor, and the music thundered through his ears, taking hold of him. This was his dance, and he knew every step by heart. Every shot, every move and mistake the Alliance security made, he was able to compensate and knock them back.

On the fringes of his sight, Garrus was able to see his father locked in hand to hand with another guard. Wrex charged through four men before head butting a fifth. Biotics flared to life as Alenko, Miranda, Liara and Javik unleashed their powers and hurled men into the air and across the room. Garrus briefly observed as Hannah Shepard slid into cover and fired across the hangar, knocking out several others as she went. She handled her Avenger with all the dexterity of a born soldier.

A guard sped towards her from behind, brandishing his pistol. Garrus spotted him and sent a concussive shot his way, sending him into a crumbling heap on the floor.

"I got your six Shep-!" Garrus started to shout, before he realized he was losing himself in the heat of the moment. He quickly shook off the odd feeling it left him. Hannah Shepard was not his to protect, no matter how much they looked alike.

"Garrus, finish up and get your asses to the _Normandy_ now!" Joker yelled through his earpiece. He could hear the whine of the alarms going off in the hangar bay and the roar of the _Normandy _as it rumbled to life, over the music from his visor.

He watched Liara toss the last of the guards into the air with a biotic throw, and motioned for them to follow.

As one, they surged up a set of air-stairs on the back of a vehicle and stumbled through the airlock.

"Find somewhere to strap yourselves in!" Garrus barked at the crew. He clamored through them and raced to the cockpit to find Joker and Cortez already strapped into their safety harnesses, flicking through control holos. As soon as Joker noticed the turian behind him, he punched the airlocks shut and disengaged the anchors holding the ship in place.

"This is about to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better," Cortez said over the intercom as Joker maneuvered the _Normandy _from the hangar and out of Aurora Station. Just as they dropped into space, a huge dreadnought came face to face with them.

"Oh shit, shit, shit," Joker stammered, firing a warning shot from the Javelin torpedoes. A voice came over the loud speakers saying, "This is Alliance Command. Surrender the _Normandy_ or we will be forced to fire upon you."

"Like hell you will," the flight pilot muttered. He killed the main thrusters and the ship dropped below the dreadnought's line of sight. Three fighters caught sight of them and surged ahead, but Joker was faster at the controls and had the superior ship. He outmaneuvered them with ease just as they fired upon the _Normandy_.

If Garrus hadn't seen Joker do it before, he would never guess that a ship as large as this could barrel roll and bank as quickly as it could. Before the dreadnought could haul itself around in their direction, they were already out beyond Saturn, with the Charon Relay in view.

"Where to first, big guy?" Joker said, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Set a course for Omega. Aria's about to learn a new mantra," Garrus turned on heel and headed back toward the CIC. "Don't fuck with Archangel."

* * *

**Here's to hoping I didn't screw up anything with the action sequence!**


	12. Return to Omega

_There's nowhere else I would rather be…_

* * *

"It will be another several hours before we reach Omega," Joker had said after exiting the relay. "So stop staring over my shoulder and go calibrate something." Garrus had begrudgingly turned away, skulking from the cockpit. He figured he'd follow Shepard's old path around the ship, checking in on everyone, making sure they were settling in.

Cortez had already left the cockpit in favor of the hangar. He mentioned to Garrus that one Kodiak intact, while the other was nearly disassembled, parts spread randomly throughout the cargo bay. Cortez had reassured the turian he could reassemble the shuttle. Vega had also take up residence in the hangar, preferring the quiet hum of the ship to engineers shouting algorithms to one another. He stood over his work bench, fumbling with a number of heat sinks. The creepy husk head sat on the corner of the bench, glaring at him the majority of the time, but swiveled its head every so often the scream at something randomly. It seemed to keep Vega slightly entertained, and when Garrus asked the Marine to toss it out the airlock, Vega laughed and said he was keeping it safe for Shepard.

Half the engineers stationed themselves in the CIC, checking and rechecking systems, while the other half were on the engineering deck doing the same. Tali was also in engineering, but reported she was also running to the AI core if Traynor needed her help. The pair ran diagnostic checks of EDI's systems hoping to restore her. Tali was certain she could take what she learned about the geth to help the AI. Garrus wasn't as convinced.

Javik returned to his room in engineering, insisting he must wash his hands. The moment they had entered the Sahrabarik System, his agitation became apparent. He cursed under his breath as he scrubbed his hands in vain, muttering, "This isn't right," repeatedly.

Kaidan busied himself in the Starboard Observation by dismantling and cleaning his weapons, biotics sparking from him as he grew more and more frustrated.

He found Liara and Miranda in the old CO's room, heads bent low over a scattering of datapads, monitors flickering overhead. Garrus knew they were comparing notes and compiling files on every bit of information they could scrounge up.

Entering the medbay brought memories flooding back of leaving Shepard behind on the battlefield, of crash landing on an uncharted world, and of spending too much time in this room, healing when he should have been searching for his bondmate. Shaking the odd feeling it left him, Garrus spotted Dr. Chakwas. She sat at her desk, shuffling through her omni-tool, counting her inventory. Upon hearing his footsteps, she swiveled her chair around to greet him.

"Garrus, I've been meaning to speak with you," she said, standing from her chair.

"What can I do for you Karin?" he asked.

"I've been going over my supplies, and I've come to find, I am grossly under stocked. With the _Normandy _being 'previously' decommissioned, the majority of my inventory has been taken elsewhere. In short, we need supplies… soon," she said, wringing her hands.

"Seems most everybody is short… I don't know how Shepard kept up with all this, especially in the midst of a war," he muttered.

Chakwas chuckled, "It takes practice… practice, and Shepard was damn good at what she did. She could do anything she put her mind to, and I've always admired her for that."

Garrus nodded slowly in agreement. Changing course swiftly, he said, "We'll be hitting Omega soon, and once we dock, I'll send Vega with you to the markets. Hopefully you'll be able to find a few things to last us until we reach Illium, where we'll purchase anything else we may need… Plus I know Liara wants to grab some things from her office and apartment."

"Thank you Garrus. Shepard would be so proud of you, if she were here,"

And with that, he decided he would finish his rounds and try to catch an hour or so of sleep before they arrived at Omega.

Garrus elected to poke his head into the main battery for a moment to determine the state of the Thannix cannons. He regretted looking in almost immediately. The cannons were halfway dismantled and parts were strewn across the battery. His old cot, long since used, lay forgotten in its corner, bolts and tools littered it haphazardly. Getting these weapons back in working order was going to become a fulltime job, and Garrus hoped to the Spirits, they wouldn't need to use them anytime in the near future.

Taking the elevator back to the CIC deck, he found that his father and Wrex had retreated into the war room, contacting their families to let them know they were alright, though both the elder turian and the krogan warlord kept their distance from one another. Old habits die hard.

Joker was still lounged in his leather seat, at the controls, humming a tune quietly to himself.

Passing several crew members who saluted him, he retreated back to the elevator and pressed the button to go up to Shepard's cabin… his cabin? _Their_ cabin.

The lock was green, so Garrus let himself in, but not before taking a deep breath. They had spent some of their last, intimate moments alone in the cabin. She had voiced her overwhelming concerns to him. He closed his eyes remembering how she had finally broken down. He had held her close to his chest for a long time, feeling every quake her body made as she sobbed against him. She hadn't needed him to say anything, and he didn't. He had allowed her to cry until she couldn't anymore, stroking her hair, caressing her bare skin, and nuzzling the top of her head. Garrus swallowed the nausea that had overcome him so suddenly, and strode into the cabin, only to find Hannah Shepard sitting on the edge of the bed.

The Admiral, was looking at a holo-frame when Garrus walked into the room. Upon seeing her, Garrus froze mid-stride, stumbling over a quick and clumsy apology.

"Don't be sorry Vakarian. I only came up here to see if there was anything the Alliance hadn't removed just yet. And sure enough… I found this," she said, tapping a footlocker with the edge of her boot. "I suppose they had a hell of a time trying to unlock it when they found it, and pushed it aside to deal with later when they couldn't." She looked oddly serene as she extended the holo-frame in Garrus' direction. Shaking his head, he sat down on the coffee table and took the picture. It was of him and Shepard during their shore leave party. She had his face in her hands, as she kissed his scarred face, and his mandibles were flared wide in complete bliss as he looked towards the camera.

"She wouldn't ever let me near that footlocker. How did you manage to hack it?" Garrus asked, looking up at the Admiral.

Hannah Shepard laughed, "I didn't… The combination was your last name. Only took me a few tries before I guessed it."

"I should have known," he chuckled. "She was always closed off, the majority of the time. Kept her emotions bottled up, unless she was around me… or she was very pissed off."

"She gets all those wonderful, defining qualities from me," she said, leaning over to rifle through contents of the locker. As the Admiral pulled a tattered book from the container, several pages fell from the binding and floated noiselessly to the floor.

"It's been years since I've seen one of those," Garrus said, amazed.

"Aurora always preferred the real thing over reading from a datapad or an omni-tool. This was her favorite… _From the Earth to the Moon_ by Jules Verne…," Hannah Shepard's voice trailed off, and a deep sadness overtook her.

"The more I learn, the more I begin to realize how much I really don't know about her," he said, his heart sinking.

"I know you blame yourself for what happened, but I'm certain we'll find her… one way or another… and with any luck, the two of you will have a lifetime to catch up," she said, the corner of her mouth turning up in a very Shepard fashion. "Anyways... I should go… There's a few things I'd like to do before we dock on Omega."

"Cerberus is going to pay for everything they've done…," Garrus growled.

"A pissed off bondmate, a very angry mother, and a ship full of vengeful comrades in arms… Yeah… Cerberus is in for a not so pleasant surprise," the Admiral declared just before exiting the cabin, leaving Garrus to fume silently.

The moment he heard the elevator doors shut, he placed Shepard's personal effects back into the opened footlocker and stripped off the upper portion of his armor. Tossing it aside, Garrus collapsed onto the bed, his bare carapace sinking into the soft mattress. The sheets had been changed and no longer smelled of Shepard, but her scent lingered in between the threads of the mattress, filling his nostrils and leading him into the dark recesses of his mind. In mere minutes, Garrus was out, sleeping without so much as a sound, memories and dreams fading away.

He slept until Joker buzzed his visor.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty!" the flight lieutenant shouted obnoxiously in Garrus's earpiece.

"I hate you Joker," Garrus mumbled into the pillow he was clutching.

"Stop whining and get down here. Omega just came into view,"

Garrus dressed, yawning every few minutes, and loaded himself onto the elevator, punching the button to the CIC.

Walking into the cockpit, Garrrus took note that even without the aid of EDI, Joker was able to make the Normandy glide through asteroids like a dancer on the dance floor.

As they moved into the asteroid field with ease, Omega grew from a small, glowing pinprick to the large reddish-orange rock they had all come to loathe over the years. Shepard had once said it reminded her of a bright jellyfish, tentacles billowing lazily in the vacuum of space.

It had been some time since Garrus was last on the rock, and it still left a bad taste in his mouth. He wasn't too keen on revisiting it, seeing as how the previous time he was here, he took a rocket to the face and nearly died. But as it were, he'd stare down a Reaper if he had to in order to find Shepard and bring her back.

Garrus watched from his position behind Joker's leather seat as they drew closer to the station. The automated turrets Cerberus had installed were still in operation, and followed their approach course.

A voice suddenly came over the intercom demanding to know who they were.

"We can't get a signature on your ship. State your name and business for coming to Omega," a batarian said.

"You would think that with the technology available, they'd be able to make us completely invisible… Windows or no windows," Joker said, craning his neck around to give Garrus a questioning look. The turian shrugged and said, "No reason to hide why we're here."

Pressing one talon to the intercom button and switching channels, Garrus said, "This is the SSV _Normandy_. My business is with Aria, and Aria alone."

A brief pause and, "An escort will be waiting for you at the docks. Over and out."

"Well that's certainly not the worst welcome we've ever received…" Joker muttered. Garrus switched channels and broadcasted throughout the rest of ship, "I want Javik, Wrex and Admiral Shepard to the airlock in five. Weapons and full armor. Be prepared for a fight."

Six minutes, several insults, and a limping prothean later, and much to Wrex's apparent disappointment, the airlock door opened without so much as a bullet fired in their direction.

An escort of at least half a dozen batarians and a number of bare-faced turians met them, weapons drawn.

"I can already feel Cerberus' presence here… I don't like this much, turian," Javik whispered into Garrus' ear.

Garrus bowed his fringed head ever so slightly in agreement. This wasn't going to be easy, contending with four mercenary gangs, Aria, her thugs and possibly remnants of Cerberus.

"Wish things would work in our favor from time to time," Wrex grumbled as they stepped off the _Normandy_ and followed the escort to Afterlife.

* * *

**Life is busy... terribly sorry for the delay... up next Archangel and Aria face off! :D**


	13. Suffering Vengeance

_I'm not about to comprise,_

_Give you up to say goodbye…_

* * *

_"Garrus, can we please talk about this?" Shepard said desperately, exiting the airlock and following Garrus through the CIC, to the elevator. Thane hung back, keeping his distance from them. _

_"I said I don't want to talk about it," he growled, his subharmonics seething furiously. Several engineers swiveled their heads around as their voices carried. _

_They had just left the Citadel. Garrus had gone there with the ultimate goal of seeking revenge on Sidonis for the betrayal of their squadmates on Omega. Shepard initially agreed to help him find the other turian and lure him from hiding, but it all went to shit upon speaking with him. She had blocked Garrus' shot, warned Sidonis of his intentions, and somehow convinced Garrus to let him go. _

_Reaching the shuttle, Garrus had said everything was alright and that he couldn't pull the trigger. But during the ride back to the Normandy, he replayed the situation through his head over and over again, becoming more livid each time he did. His men deserved fates better than this, and Sidonis living did nothing to ease it. By the time they reached the ship, Garrus had convinced himself, killing the other turian would have been the best option, but Shepard obviously didn't feel the same. _

_Loading themselves onto the elevator, Garrus punched the button to take him down a level. He irritably noticed as Shepard didn't push the one for her cabin. _

_"You know what I did was right," she said, folding her arms and leaning against the wall. _

_"I know what you did was selfish! You should have let me take the damn shot!" he shouted at her as the door to the elevator slid open, revealing Miranda. The Cerberus XO was apparently waiting for the lift. Her mouth hung slightly open, as if about to say something, but the Commander was quicker._

_"Can it, Lawson," Shepard snapped at the woman. _

_"Excuse me?" Miranda said haughtily, arching an eyebrow in slight confusion. Garrus pushed past the black haired woman, stomping off in the direction of the Main Battery, Shepard in tow. _

_"What I did was for your own damn good!" she yelled at his armored back. When he disregarded her, she grabbed him on the shoulder and wheeled him around to face her with surprising strength._

_"Don't ignore me Vakarian,"_

_"And don't assume you know what's best for me. I can take care of myself!"_

_"Oh right! When I came for you on Omega, you were cornered, starved, and about to die because you decided to foolishly go up against three merc groups at the same time! Doesn't sound like you can take care of yourself at all!" spat Shepard._

_Mordin and Dr. Chakwas poked their heads out of the medbay. Gardner attempted to blend in with his refrigerator, pushing himself into the corner. Kasumi switched on her tactical cloak and skirted off in the opposite direction. Garrus glanced around, noticing everyone attempting to not listen in on their argument._

_"Shepard, you're causing a scene," he said in a low voice. She threw her hands into the air, exasperated, "I really don't give a shit! I'm pulling rank and ordering you to talk to me!"_

_He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, saying incredulously, "Are you kidding me?"_

_"I'm being dead, fucking serious, Vakarian. Why are you so damn upset with me?" Shepard demanded. Spirits, she could make a krogan cry when she was pissed._

_"You agreed to help me kill that son of a bitch and then kept me from actually shooting him. Why?" he said finally._

_"I did it for your own good!"_

_"You keep saying that, but why?" he repeated._

_Shepard sighed, "Because killing someone for the sake of revenge can change people Garrus."_

_"Not me…," it was his turn to fold his arms across his carapace stubbornly._

_"No? You were so obsessed with vengeance that you almost killed that volus masquerading around as Fade. You would have murdered Harkin if I hadn't stopped you, and executing Sidonis wouldn't have changed a thing. You're men would still be dead, and you would have been so consumed with grief because you would be unable to fix it," she said defiantly. _

_Garrus' unscarred mandible twitched as he regarded Shepard. He knew she was right, but he would, in no way, admit it to her... at least not yet. _

_"You don't need to concern yourself with me," he said, glaring down at her. "You have too much on your plate already."_

_"But I do Garrus… fuck… I… You have no idea, do you?" she asked, wringing her gloved hands together, in what he took as nervousness._

_"No idea what?" he said, brow plates furrowing in confusion._

_She stood with her mouth agape, baffled for a moment before she was able to recover herself. _

_"You're so dense!" she groaned._

_"Shepard, what are you talking about?" he questioned again._

_"Damnit!" she shrieked at no one and turned on heel, skulking back towards the elevator, fists clenched. _

_He stood there by the Main Battery door for what seemed like an eternity, perplexed at the scene that had just unfolded before him._

_"What the hell was that?!" Garrus said aloud. _

_"Women," muttered Gardner coming out of the shadows of his small corner of the kitchen. Garrus shot the mess cook a derisive look and trudged into the Battery._

* * *

Looking back on their first argument, Garrus supposed he ought to have been more versed in Shepard's euphemisms. He wasn't sure what triggered the memory exactly, but he imagined it had something to do with being back on this damned asteroid, the shit and piss of the galaxy. It was a place of lowlifes, degenerates, criminals and scum who had no place in Citadel Space. He despised this damn place, but if it meant finding Shepard, he would face down the Blue Suns, the Blood Pack, the Eclipse and the Talons by himself.

So with Javik and Wrex beside him, they followed the small squadron through the docking bay and into the center of Omega, Afterlife, where Aria T'Loak ruled over her forsaken rock. Garrus counted at least thirteen guards before reaching the nightclub, not including their escort. He had certainly faced more overwhelming odds in the past, but he was a bit more hesitant to try his luck again. However, he did have a small army of his own aboard the _Normandy_, waiting patiently for his signal should plans go astray.

They reach Afterlife, passing by the bar, asari dancers, more bouncers and a number of sketchy patrons. At long last they reached the stairs and the dais where Aria typically resided. Upon arrival, three more guards drew weapons, with one of them saying, "That's far enough."

Aria T'Loak was situated by the balcony, overlooking the nightclub, with her hands clasped behind her, back towards them. She was just out of reach, but close enough for Garrus to hear what she said.

"I can't ever get enough of this music," she spoke to them. "It surges through Afterlife as blood courses through veins, taking hold, and not letting go…" The asari turned to face them, seeking Garrus' eyes first.

"Not letting go like some should," she said irritably, sitting down on her couch and crossing her legs.

Garrus felt Wrex shift slightly

"So what are three of Shepard's little minions doing on my doorstep? I wonder…," she said thoughtfully, tapping her foot. Before any of them could answer her, she spoke again, this time, directing her words at Wrex.

"Ah, the krogan mercenary, Urdnot Wrex. I hear you're a warlord now, leader of Clan Urdnot and ruler over all krogan. Oh, you must be so proud," Aria sneered.

"Aleena. I see you're still a bitch to kill," Wrex nodded. "Not surprising Cerberus couldn't finish the job if I couldn't."

Aria smirked at him, "Better luck next time. But enough inane chit chat. As much as I've enjoy our little reunion, you need to realize something… I've helped Shepard enough to last three of my lifetimes. The war is over. The Commander is dead, and if you ask me, she got what was coming to her. She poked her nose into too many places it didn't belong." She waved her hand in the air, dismissing them impatiently.

Wrex opened his mouth the say something, but in one swift movement, Garrus was on top of Aria, talons clenched around her blue throat, pistol pressed against her forehead.

The music in the dance club fizzled out as all of Aria's pawns drew their weapons in unison. Wrex unfolded his shotgun, and Javik's green biotics surged to his hands.

"Get the fuck off of me!" she shrieked.

"Don't you dare speak of Shepard like that," Garrus growled, his subvocals challenging Aria to question him.

"And who the fuck do you think you are to threaten me? I could give the order and you would be dead where you stand in a matter of seconds," the asari sneered furiously.

"Me? I've been many things in my life: ex C-SEC cop, Spectre candidate, Shepard's lover, Primarch of Palavan… and… Oh yes! Archangel," Garrus breathed the last word into her ear. Aria's eyes widened, and he could feel her pulse quicken beneath her chest.

"Bullshit," she spat, quickly recovering from her initial surprise. "Archangel's dead."

Garrus barked a laugh, "Or so you were told when the merc groups couldn't find my body. Good news for me… Bad for you, I suppose." His grip tightened around Aria's throat as he moved his M-11 from her forehead to her knee. "Should have done the dirty work yourself, Aria, rather than take a vorcha's word for it."

Aria's hands flared with biotics. Garus repositioned himself to move his knee onto one of her glowing hands, causing her to yell in frustration and fury.

"Don't," he started, but quickly changed his mind. "Better yet, kill me… I have nothing to fucking lose… and everything to gain in this… Do so, and the _Normandy_ will blast this damn rock from orbit with the Thannix Cannons," he bluffed, knowing full well that the cannons were in pieces inside the Main Battery. Aria didn't need to know that bit of information. "It takes two blasts to take out a fully operational Collector ship, so I imagine it would do a nasty bit of damage to your dear Omega."

The blue haze and static energy surrounding the asari died.

"Do it," she taunted. Garrus paused for a moment considering his options. Aria took this as a hesitation and continued, "You don't have the quad for it. Your precious Shepard wouldn't do it. No… she was too much of a _pussy_ when it came to revenge."

Archangel snarled in rage and pulled the trigger. A resounding gunshot reverberated off the walls of Afterlife, as Aria's scream pierced the eardrums of everyone present.

Her men inched closer, and Garrus heard the sound of armor piercing rounds being switched on throughout the club.

He replaced the pistol back on her forehead.

"I suggest you cooperate, Aria, or we're going to have an even bigger mess on our hands than just a little spilt blood," Garrus said in a low tone, jerking his head to the side, indicating the rest of the off shore party had arrived, including his father and Hannah Shepard. Wrex must have hailed them from his earpiece when the situation turned away from their original plans. Garrus made a mental note to thank the krogan later.

Glancing their way and breathing heavily, Aria nodded her compliance, fear and loathing and pain, distinct, in her tense eyes.

"Alright, what the fuck do you want?" she hissed at him.

Climbing off Aria and standing above her, Garrus said, "See? Isn't this easier than bitching and moaning how you don't want to help me?"

Liara offered him a datapad, which Garrus grasped in hand and passed it to Aria. Hands shaking, the Queen of Omega took it.

"What am I looking at?" she asked, voice quavering.

Garrus holstered his pistol and folded his arms across his chest, saying, "I don't think the Cerberus influence is quite gone from Omega,"

* * *

**I really don't hate Aria... I think she's a great character but I do love seeing her put in her place!**

**Thanks for the continued support! Reviews, faves and follows are always appreciated!**


	14. Deep Into That Darkness

_I'll guide you through the deep and keep you close to me…_

_It was just after 0100 Alliance Standard Time, and the majority of the Normandy's crew was catching up on sleep. They were on their way to Thessia to follow a lead from the asari councilor pertaining to a top secret prothean artifact. In the meantime, Garrus had taken to busying himself in the Main Battery by toying with the Thannix. Several hours into his calibrations, he decided to walk away for a few moments. _

_Walking from the Battery to the mess hall and wiping his hands of grease, oil and resin, he spotted Shepard at one of the dining tables. Glancing around, Garrus found no one else in the hall, and the lights were off in the medbay. All was quiet and the only sound was the slight hum from the Normandy's drive core. _

_Shepard had her booted feet crossed and resting on the table, while she leaned casually in her chair, her back facing Garrus. A number of datapads lay scattered in front of her, as she held another in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She sat unmoving as she looked over the files. _

_Garrus suddenly got an idea. Shepard was not easily scared or startled, and he had the advantage here. She didn't have a clue he had entered the room. So with all the stealth of an assassin, he crept as quietly as he could toward her turned back. One silent step after another, he inched toward her, preparing how he would strike when he reached her. _

_Just as he was about to make contact and jump from his crouched position to frighten her, Shepard muttered, without turning around, "Don't even think about it Vakarian."_

_He hung his head, slouching in defeat as he pulled a chair around to face her._

_"How'd you know it was me?" he asked. She set the datapad she was reading on the table and tapped the side of her head, "Darling, you're forgetting I have upgrades. I heard the Main Battery door open not 30 steps away."_

_"I thought I was quiet enough,"_

_She chuckled, "Garrus, you're not an assassin."_

_"No, I suppose not," he said, glancing at the datapads. "What are you doing up this late anyways?"_

_"Trying to sort out who I want in the squad on Thessia," she said._

_"How do you do it? Pick squad members, I mean," Garrus asked, turning over a couple of the datapads. Shepard sighed, "I usually select them based on what sort of skills each person has and what could be most beneficial to what the mission requires."_

_"And what if you're going in blind?"_

_"I choose who I can trust the most, plus I prefer a balance between biotics and weaponry because you never know what sort of shit you may run into," she said running a hand through her hair. "Nine times out of ten, I usually end up taking you and Liara. Not only do I trust the two of you the most, but also you can pick off enemies at long range, while Liara can utilize her biotics if the get close. And I-"_

_"You charge head first with that geth assault rifle of yours," Garrus said, laughter in his subharmonics._

_"Because I know the two of you are covering my ass,"_

_"Liara better not be watching your ass, that's my job," he snickered. Shepard laughed uncomfortably, something else apparently on her mind. She wasn't quite meeting his eyes and shifting uneasily in her chair. Garrus had become attuned to Shepard's mannerisms over the years and knew he wasn't going to like what he heard next. _

_"I'm not taking you on this one…," she said slowly. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but Shepard was his commanding officer and he respected her choices, even though, as her boyfriend, he may not approve of them. _

_"So who are the lucky two?" he asked, leaning toward her._

_"Wait. You're not mad at me?" she asked, shooting him an incredulous look. He took both her hands in his, grasping them firmly in a reassuring way._

_"While I prefer to go with you, it is your ship. I may not be the best, but I'm still turian… I'm still able to follow some orders," he said, his mandibles flicking into a slight, lopsided smile._

_There was the briefest pause as she regarded him, making sure he was serious, before flinging her arms around his neck and breathing a sigh of relief._

_"Thank God," she said, kissing his scarred plates. "I've been struggling for the last hour with how I was going to tell you I'm taking Liara and Javik."_

_"Liara and Javik?" he asked skeptically._

_"Well, yes," she said. "Liara is the obvious choice… and Javik, I think, will have some keen insight into this artifact. He definitely knows more than he lets on… Besides, I get the feeling he's getting restless, cooped up in his room. I want to give him the chance to stretch his legs a little."_

_"But Javik?"_

_"I thought you said you were okay with this Garrus…"_

_"I am… But Javik?" he said again. Shepard's lips curled up; a playful glint in her eyes as she whispered to him, "I can't always play favorites. People may get suspicious."_

_Garrus laughed and leaned over her chair to nuzzle her neck, "Here's a news flash for you Shepard: people already know I'm the favorite."_

_"Well, the whole galaxy doesn't need to know," she said, caressing the skin under his fringe_

_"I'm still syncing my omni-tool to your suit,"_

_"Of course, you always have my six," she giggled as he nipped her collarbone. Garrus took great pride in being the only person to ever get Shepard to giggle and squeal like a young school girl._

_"C'mon, let's go upstairs. Maybe you can get me to fall asleep," she said, standing up and collecting the datapads from the table. Garrus wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they headed toward the elevator, saying, "Challenge accepted."_

* * *

"Bray! Get me some fucking medi-gel," Aria T'Loak barked to a batarian standing off to the side. She continued to look over the datapad Garrus had handed her, frowning as she went. "What do you mean you 'don't think the Cerberus influence is quite gone from Omega'? You know damn well Shepard helped me eradicate them," she said, shoving the datapad back into Garrus' hands.

Liara threw Garrus a sideways glance and said, "We have information that says otherwise. We know that they've been on Omega sometime within the last six months."

"Ah- the _esteemed_ Dr. T'Soni," Aria sneered. "I'm surprised to see you've come out of hiding."

"Reports indicate you still have power outages in several districts, including the Kima and Gozu districts, and-," started Liara, ignoring the other asari.

Aria interrupted her, "Wait, how do you know this? Those areas have been off limits for months…"

"The Shadow Broker," Garrus said, impatience in his subvocals.

"Of course. You know… the Broker and I go way back. He-," Aria began, seizing the medi-gel pack from Bray as he returned.

Liara rolled her eyes, "Save it Aria. You and the Broker do not have any history. _I_ know all your secrets, and I won't hesitate to expel them publicly if you decide not to help us."

"Well that's one way to shut her up," Tali chuckled, cradling her shotgun.

Aria tossed the used medi-gel aside and stood up carefully. Realizing she could balance her weight on both legs again, she rose to full height. Biotic sparks jumped at her fingertips as she moved closer to Liara. Garrus unholstered his pistol again, ready to shoot if Aria tried to pull something.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised that you're the Shadow Broker… Alright I'll help you… but on one condition… When you find what it is you're looking for, I don't want to see Shepard, or any of you or her other friends… anywhere near Omega, EVER again. And if I do, I promise I _will_ shoot whatever ship she's on out of the damn sky," she said.

"Believe me, if it wasn't for Shepard, I wouldn't be back in this shit hole, so consider it done," Garrus snorted.

Twenty minutes later, Garrus found himself crammed into a skycar next to Wrex and Javik, with Aria and Bray in the front seats. Another skycar followed behind them, containing Liara, Tali, Hannah Shepard and Tychus. He had told the rest of the crew to return to the _Normandy_. His small team was heading to the Gozu District upon his insistence. There were still power outages throughout this district, and Garrus' cop instincts told him this was the place to start, in Mordin's old medical facility.

Quickly scanning several of Shepard's old mission reports detailing her time on Omega, Garrus leaned forward in the car to speak with Aria.

"First things first. Before we go storming down a dark hole, blind, I need to know: are the adjutants gone?" he asked, tapping his pistol on the side of her seat.

Javik slouched in his chair, crossing his arms and muttering, "Adjutants… I have never seen anything like them. They are an abomination and should not be allowed to exist."

Aria swiveled her head around and glowered at the both of them, snapping, "The Reapers are finished aren't they?" Javik glared at her, unblinking.

Garrus shot the prothean a look, telling him to cool it. Javik slumped further into the seat, and turned his gaze out the window, and settled instead on mumbling curses under his breath about the conditions of the asteroid.

Garrus rolled his eyes at the prothean, and said slowly to Aria, "Yes…,"

Aria shook her blue head in contempt, "There's your answer. No more adjutants."

"So this section of the district is completely empty?"

"Yes," the asari answered curtly.

Bray parked the car as close to the medical clinic as possible, though it was still a ten minute walk into complete darkness.

The two parties clamored from their respective cars, armor and weapons clinking against one another.

Standing before the set of doors that would lead them through the Gozu District, Garrus unholstered his Widow and flipped on the small flashlight.

"Aria, I think we can take it from here," he said, dismissing the asari. She let out a low sigh and said, "Thank the goddess. Let's go Bray." Without turning back, she stomped off toward her skycar.

"Shepard's a damn hero. I hope you can find her," Bray said quietly before speeding off to catch up with Aria.

Tali snorted, the purple light on her face mask in sync with her laughter, "That's something you don't see too often: a batarian in favor of a human… even after destroying most of their species with an asteroid. Hmm."

"Who would have thought the genophage would be cured too," added Wrex. "Or the krogan, salarians, and turians actually getting along."

Garrus filtered out their conversation to focus on the task at hand. He scanned the pathways beyond the doors with his omni-tool and visor.

"Or a prothean being awakened after 50,000 years of cryo," Liara said turning to Javik.

"Or a human having so many alien friends," said Javik.

Garrus' mandibles clicked together irritably. Everything was dark, silent in the corridors before them. Something didn't feel right, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The others' laughter was drowned out as he searched for a heat or energy signature of any kind.

Tychus Vakarian saw the distress upon his son's face and moved toward him.

"Enough with the chit chat," Archangel growled. All present, ceased speaking.

"Son, what is it?" he asked, placing a hand on Garrus' shoulder. Hannah Shepard shifted forward as well, noticing the atmosphere had changed dramatically.

"There's nothing down there. No heat, no light. Nothing," he started.

"Aria did say there wasn't any power in this sector…," Tali offered.

Garrus shook his head, looking at his omni-tool, "This is different. I- I can't explain it. It's like this section is… dead…"

Glancing up, he noticed six pairs of eyes, staring at him.

"Normally, when there's a power outage of this magnitude, there are surges of energy and heat and electricity, just with nowhere to go," he continued. "But, spirits… there's nothing."

"What does that mean for us?" Tychus asked.

"I don't want us down there any longer than we have to be. So, we split up, cover more ground," Garrus said. "Liara. Admiral. You're with me. Dad, I want you to go with Wrex, Javik, and Tali. Search every room, every closed door, and every nook and cranny for anything that may lead the Shepard's whereabouts."

"If you find anything, radio us your coordinates immediately," added Admiral Shepard, unfolding her Avenger.

"I'm sending everyone a layout of the area, Mordin's clinic is highlighted in green. That's where we'll meet up. Is everyone clear on that?" he finished, looking around at their faces. They were uneasy, unsure, and undoubtedly terrified of what they may find.

"Alright. Move out!" he ordered as Tali hacked the doors. Wrex and his team took the corridor the right, as Garrus, the Admiral, and Liara went straight. In mere seconds, the blackness overwhelmed them, and they were engulfed in complete darkness, with only their tiny flashlights, and the infrared on Garrus' visor to aid them.

* * *

**OMG! I am so sorry about the delay! My computer crashed, and I had to completely rewrite this entire chapter!**

**But here it is finally! Enjoy!**


	15. Skin Crept Cold

_I'll follow you down through the eye of the storm…_

* * *

As they plunged further and deeper into Omega's darkness, it soon became apparent to Garrus, Liara and Admiral Shepard, this would be a very difficult and arduous task. They searched every long corridor, every abandoned apartment and every hole and sewer grate, leaving no stone unturned. Garrus ticked off each section on his omni-tool as they progressed.

The only sound to be heard was their boots against the cement and their own labored breathing. Everything else was silent, and it was unnerving.

They were currently searching a small, derelict warehouse, but to no avail. The single floor building was nearly empty, save for a few old filing cabinets and a broken computer. Rummaging through the filing cabinets, Hannah Shepard wrinkled her nose in disgust, "This place stinks of death."

Liara nodded her head in agreement, "It does. But where are all the bodies?"

"Vakarian, there's nothing here. I think we should move on," said Admiral Shepard, slamming a drawer of a filing cabinet shut. Garrus was becoming frustrated. Generally, his instincts were dead-on, but Garrus was unsure what to make of this situation. They had been searching for the last three hours, and there was no sign of Cerberus ever being here, or Shepard for that matter. He didn't reply to the Admiral, instead he walked out onto the dark street and pressed his ear piece.

"Wrex, anything?" he asked quietly.

"Not a damn thing," replied the krogan, his voice echoing Garrus' own discouraged thoughts.

"How far from the clinic are you?" Garrus said. He heard Liara and the Admiral move from the building behind him, and watched their flashlight beams as they crossed the street to enter another office building.

"It's just a few blocks over. Think we should skip the rest of these buildings and just meet at the clinic?" Wrex said. Garrus considered it, but knowing their luck, they would stop searching and bypass an important clue in the next building.

"No… keep looking. We're bound to find something,"

"Got it. Wrex out," the krogan said, disgruntled.

Garrus followed his small team into the next structure. Upon entering, the Admiral informed Garrus that Liara had taken to the basement. He nodded his understanding and began to through and empty desk, occasionally coming across a broken datapad.

After several minutes of silence, Hannah Shepard ceased hunting. Wiping her brow with the back of her hand, she shined her flashlight at Garrus, saying, "What attracted you to my daughter?"

Garrus paused, taken aback by the abruptness of the question.

A dumbfounded "What?" was all he was able to say in response.

An uncomfortable Admiral shifted her weight to one foot, rubbed her eyes with one hand, while the other went to her hip. _Damn, they look so much alike_.

"Sorry… What I meant to say was… I would never have imagined she would have followed in my footsteps… Hell I wouldn't have imagined her to fall for a turian…," the Admiral said sheepishly, holstering her Avenger.

Garrus rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, waiting with baited breath to see where this conversation was headed.

"Growing up, she was always so gentle… She never liked to get her hands dirty. And she always wanted to play dress up," Hannah laughed. Garrus saw her eyes, wet with tears and, a deep sadness overtook her as she continued. "But I never had the time… Being a single mother in the Alliance… well… it hasn't been easy… I've missed out on a good portion of Aurora's life…

"One night I came back home from a mission. Aurora must have been 15 at the time. She was in our tiny room, playing games with some of the other military kids on the ship we were stationed on… I came home, distraught enough for her to notice. I had just lost a dear friend of mine and the mission was a failure… I won't bore you with the details… but she told the other kids to leave immediately, and came to sit next to me on the bed… All she said was, 'Everything will be alright. I'll make it better, when I join the Alliance.'

"It was the first and the last time she mentioned joining the military, until she turned 18. The day she left for boot camp, I cried as if I never cried before. Just before she left, she told me, 'I'm doing this for you, Mom… So one day, you don't have to.'

"I guess I'm just trying to understand my daughter better because who I thought she was as a child, that delicate flower, is nothing like who she turned out to be," she said, swiftly wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Garrus folded his Widow and replaced it on his back. Choosing his words deliberately, he said, "You must understand… I looked up to Aurora, not only as my commanding officer, but also as a mentor and as a friend first, before we ever became involved… Every member of her crew respects her, and she'll go to great lengths to honor that admiration… even when she doesn't have to…"

He turned away from the Admiral, not daring to look her in the eye, and prayed once more to his spirits that Aurora was not lost to him. Running a hand over his fringe, he continued, his subvocals breaking, "She see's past the bullshit, past the species, and language barriers, and… and the scars… and tries to see the good in people… damn…" His words trailed off into the darkness, leaving only silence between them.

After several moments of neither Garrus nor Hannah saying anything, Liara's voice broke through the eeriness, and into their comms, "Garrus, you need to get down here. Now."

He whipped around and eyed the Admiral, a quiet understanding passing between them.

Sprinting down the broken and ruined staircase that led to the basement, Garrus hoped to whatever higher power was listening that Liara had found Aurora. Hannah followed swiftly behind him.

The sublevel was just as black as the upper streets, and the smell down here was horrific. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Garrus swung his flashlight from left to right, searching for the asari.

"Liara? Where are you?" he hissed, bringing an arm to cover his nose.

"Over here," she whispered, clicking on her light.

"Did you find her?" asked Hannah, desperation lingering in her voice.

Liara shook head, and pointed through a doorway.

Garrus shined his light into the space beyond, revealing a heap of adjutants. He drew a sharp intake of breath as his skin went cold and his heartbeat quickened.

"I thought Aria said-" he started.

"She did, but these are dead," answered Liara.

Hannah approached the bodies and nudged a limp head with her boot. It slumped to the side, blue tongue lolling out, and fluids seeping from ruined tubes onto the floor. This was unquestionably where the stench was coming from.

In the light of their small torches, the Admiral's face turned several different shades before it finally settled on a pale grey.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." She gagged. Covering her mouth with her hand, she bolted back up the stairs, disappearing from view.

"Why would there be a pile of adjutant bodies down here?" Liara said, looking to Garrus. The turian shrugged in defeat. More questions to be answered and they were getting nowhere fast.

"I don't know, but I think we need to get to the clinic ASAP. Head back upstairs, make sure the Admiral is alright… I'll radio the others and have them meet us over there immediately."

As Liara headed back to the main level, Garrus examined the bodies for a final time. These adjutants couldn't be any more than a week dead. The stench was too fresh and rigor mortis had long since passed. Decay had barely set in and the abnormal colors of the reaper creatures were beginning to change.

_Shepard, I better not find you like this_. Shaking the disturbing thoughts from his mind, Garrus tapped his earpiece to hail Wrex.

"Did you find something?" came the krogan's voice. "Because we still can't find a damn thing in this place. Anything would be better than nothing at this point."

"Bodies. We found adjutant bodies stashed in a basement... of an office building no less,"

Wrex whistled low, "Anyone in particular among them?"

Garrus hadn't considered what may have transpired if they had found Shepard's body among the decaying reapers. He let out a low sigh, as he left the sub-level and followed Liara's path back up the stairs, "No, thank the Spirits. We're headed toward the clinic now. Meet us there."

"Yup. See you soon. Wrex out."

Once topside and on the street, Hannah Shepard stood from a crouched position when she spotted Garrus, wiping her mouth with the back of her gloved hand.

"Sorry about that. The stench was unbearable," she said. "I can't believe they've been down there that long."

Garrus' face plates twitched, as he said, "They weren't. Those adjutants have only been dead for about a week."

Disbelief overtook the Admiral's and Liara's faces.

"Are you sure?" said Liara incredulously.

"If that's the case… something isn't adding up," Hannah stated slowly.

Garrus nodded in understanding, "Agreed. That's why we're going straight to the clinic now, to meet up with the others, and to see if we can find anything else. This whole place makes me uneasy. We need to finish up and get the hell out of here."

Bringing up the navigation software on his visor, Garrus motioned for Liara and Hannah to follow him. As they fell into step behind him, Garrus set a steady and swift pace for them.

The short trek to the medical facility felt as if it took ages rather than ten minutes. And the whole journey, Garrus felt as if someone… or something was watching them from the darkest shadows.

* * *

**Well... this chapter and the next chapter were intended to be just one... but this felt as if it needed to be one on its own... Enjoy!**


	16. Bad Company

_Don't worry I'll keep you warm…_

* * *

_Darkness… Cold… Concrete walls… This is what surrounded her… she didn't know how long she had been in here… couldn't remember how she got here… wherever here was… _

_Her mind was still muddled… confused… someone else's thoughts… not her own… broken… fragmented… lost… and it was slipping still, with every passing moment…_

_She heard voices… voices she could no long place… could no longer recall who's they were… They were with her always… never ceasing, no matter how many times she shouted at them to shut up… _

_She no longer knew reality from fiction… unable to decipher one from the other… Hell… most of the time she couldn't remember who she was anymore… the threads of her past existence slipping through her fingers like smoke…_

_This is what madness must feel like… _

_Sometimes, the darkness of her confinement would flare with white, blinding light… fooling her into thinking she was dead. In fact, it was in these moments when she prayed for the light to overcome her and death to take her. _

_This wasn't living… and she was certain that if she was rational and in the right frame of mind, this might very well pass as her version of a living hell…_

_After several minutes, or days, or it could have been weeks, the light returned to her, seemingly brighter than ever. It filled her cell, and from it, a voice came, reverberating off all four walls, filling her with loss, dread and fear._

_"You chose wrong, organic," the voice said. "Even after all this time, you can not comprehend our existence. And as we extinguish all organic life from this realm, you will truly see us for what we are… and you will beg for death before the end… We await your arrival Shepard."_

_It said the same thing, every time it came to her, repeating itself until she screamed at it, clutching her ears and covering her eyes, shaking intensely. Its laughter filled her mind as it left, toying with her, breaking her… leaving her with countless other voices…_

**_Reapers… Catalyst… Dark… Indoctrination… Being… Lazarus… Cerberus… Light… Energy…_**

_Repetition… _

_"Shepard-"_

_She no longer knew who this Shepard was…_

_"I am the vanguard of your destruction…"_

_This was her prison… her mind… her reality… _

_"I'll see you all when you get back…"_

_Never see anyone again… _

_"There is a realm of existence… you cannot even imagine…"_

_She no longer cared…_

_"Come back, alive… it'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you…"_

_Let this end… please…_

_Always… the voices… never ending… ceaseless… incessant…_

* * *

Unsurprisingly, the medical facility was in complete disarray, just like everything else they had come across on Omega. Tables had been upturned, files and datapads were strewn across the floor haphazardly, and medical equipment lay broken and shattered every which way they stepped.

Garrus checked his tactical visor. A small blip had appeared on it a little over five minutes ago and had followed them the rest of the way to the clinic, disappearing as they entered the facility. Garrus kept silent, not mentioning it to either Liara or the Admiral, until they reached Wrex and his squad.

They waited several moments before the others arrived, greeting them with nods as they entered. Garrus glanced at his visor once more to ensure they were completely alone.

Satisfied, Garrus turned to the small group, whispering, "We're not alone here…"

"How can you be sure?" Tali asked, helmet tilting to the side.

"A heat signature popped up on my visor less than ten minutes ago," he said.

Javik roamed around the clinic, touching any number of overturned tables. After examining a piece of broken medical equipment, he stood up straight, blinked his four eyes and said, "I felt its presence as well."

They all stared at him for several moments, until Liara slapped her hand to her forehead, exclaiming, "Of course! Javik can read his surroundings. We could use him to-"

"Stop right there T'Soni," the prothean said, pointing his finger at the asari. "You will not use me as some sort of twisted bloodhound."

Liara quickly looked at the ground, ashamed her own suggestion had somehow offended the prothean. Garrus scratched his head, curious as to where Javik had picked up the word "bloodhound". He shrugged when Hannah Shepard glanced his way, evidently asking silently the same question.

"Besides," Javik began, this time less angrily. "I have yet to pick up anything worth noting. I will inform you if I find anything." And with that, he continued to peruse around the clinic.

"Right," Garrus continued. "The blip disappeared when we entered the facility. So just be aware of your surroundings, and come to me if you find anything suspicious."

"And what of the adjutant bodies?" Wrex asked.

"The bodies we found have only been dead for about a week," Garrus said.

"H-How is that possible? Weren't adjutants Reaper foot soldiers?" Tali stammered.

Garrus shook his head wearily, "From what Shepard told me, that's how I understood it, but now… I'm not so sure."

"Is it possible Cerberus created them? Or somehow managed to gain their control?" Tychus said, tapping his foot.

"I suppose it _technically_ is possible…," Hannah frowned.

"Didn't Shepard say the Illusive Man was trying to harness the Reapers' mind control capabilities?" Tali asked, her head cocking to one side curiously.

Garrus nodded, "Not only that, but he was trying to figure out how to control the Reapers, to up lift the human race."

"What?" Tychus growled. Garrus waved off his father, "We found evidence at Cerberus' headquarters to support that the Illusive Man was already indoctrinated… 'updated' with Reaper tech."

"And we haven't heard a peep from him since the Reapers were defeated…," said Hannah. "So we assume he's dead."

"'Assume' being the key word," growled Javik from the corner.

Wrex rolled his eyes, and said, "So we got adjutants, a blackout, Cerberus, a blip on your damn visor, and not much else… I think I'd rather take on Kalros… At least I know what I'm up against."

"I don't like it much either, but let's scour this clinic and get the hell out of here," Garrus agreed, running a hand uneasily over his fringe.

For the next hour and a half they searched the clinic from top to bottom, rummaging through over turned cabinets and picking through discarded medical equipment. Everyone kept mostly to themselves, asking each other, every so often, if they had found something, which was replied with a shake of the head or with a bitter "No".

As the minutes crept by, tempers were beginning to flare and frustration set in, spurred on by Javik muttering to himself.

After sometime, Tali threw her hands into the air, shouting, "This is ridiculous!"

"Tali's right… We're not getting anywhere," Wrex grumbled. Tychus approached his son, sadness in his eyes, "It's a dead end, Son… Let's go back to the _Normandy_."

Garrus glanced at Hannah. She was clenching her fists and looking wildly around, clearly irritated. The Admiral roared into the darkness and picked up the closest thing she could find, a tin medical box, hurling it furiously across the room. It hit the wall with a resounding clatter. The noise it made was all too loud, causing everyone present to cringe, as it crashed open to the floor.

Wrex and Tali were the first to reach the facility's doors, with Tychus in tow. The doors opened with a _whoosh_ as they approached, just as Liara cried out, "Wait! _Wait_!"

The small party turned to face the asari as she scrabbled to her feet from her crouched position.

"Garrus? What kind of omni-tool did Shepard use?" she asked excitedly.

"A high end Savant model… not even available to the public yet… She got it through Spectre Requisitions… Why?"

"Was it something like this?" she asked, tossing him a something small, a smile spreading wide across her face.

Garrus caught it and turned the small metal band over in his hands.

* * *

_"Shepard? What are you doing?" he asked as he watched her take her omni-tool off her wrist. She smirked at him mischievously. _

_They were sitting on Shepard's bed in her cabin. The Normandy had just been released from its retrofitting, and they were several days out from finally hunting down Kai Leng. _

_"Just wait," she said, reaching over to her bedside table. She grabbed Traynor's broken toothbrush and powered it on._

_"Wha-"_

_"Hush… You'll see… I had Tali tinker around with it for a bit. She said I might be able to get one last use out of it. After seeing what it could do to the emergency exit, I figured I would do this…,"she said, touching the toothbrush to the inside of metal band. _

_Sparks flew in every direction, showering down on the bed. Garrus was terrified the sheets might catch fire, but Shepard paid it no notice, her attention entirely on the task at hand… whatever that was. _

_Over the course of the next several minutes, he watched with mild curiosity as tiny symbols began to shape under the glow of the toothbrush. She was using it to etch something into her omni-tool._

_"Won't that ruin it?"_

_"Nope… Already checked with Tali," she laughed, not taking her eyes from the band. _

_He tilted his head to one side as she finished, attempting to read the human script._

_"Shepard…,"_

_"Oh right… sorry… forgot you can't translate without your visor," she said, glancing at his piece over on the floor, beside his discarded armor. "It says 'We were written in the stars, and all that separated us was time… No S without V…'" _

_He furrowed his brow plates, confusion overtaking his features. She hung her head and muttered, "If something happens-"_

_Garrus cut her off, "Nothing's going to happen…"_

_"If something happens," she repeated. "I want to find my way back to you…,"_

_Mandibles flaring into a smile, he pressed his forehead gently to hers. _

_"I think I can get one more run out of that toothbrush…" he said, extending his hand. Taking the toothbrush and flicked it on one last time, Garrus began to etch the same thing into his omni-tool, except in turian script and "No V without S"._

_As he finished, the pair sat side by side, leaning against one another and gazing at their handiwork. The stars passed silently overhead._

* * *

Garrus was brought back to his cold, harsh reality by Liara's hand on his arm.

"Is it hers?" she asked.

He nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. _How did this get here? Where was she? _More questions arising than being answered.

"We need to get back to the ship and see if it has any clues on it as to where she might be…," Liara began gently, but was interrupted by a high pitched shriek and a loud crash.

They all whipped around in the direction of the noise, only to spy Javik by the door, struggling with some unforeseen force.

"Deactivate your cloak!" he hissed, grappling to hold onto whatever it was he was straddling.

"I said, DEACTIVATE YOUR CLOAK!" he roared.

Garrus pushed through the others for a better look. A whimper came from beneath Javik as a terrified looking salarian materialized, eyes bigger than saucers as he lay beneath the scrutinizing gaze of a 50,000 year old prothean.

Upon noticing more people around him, the salarian threw up his hands in submission, stammering, "P-Please don't k-kill me!"

Archangel bent down on one knee, grabbing the petrified salarian by the front of his shirt, lifting his head and shoulders from the ground, as Javik remained seated on top of him.

"Who the hell are you?" Archangel snarled.

"P-please!"

Javik stood up, hands flaring with green biotics, "Insubordination was the equivialant of death in my time."

"P-please! N-No! Okay… Okay… I'm M-Maelon! Maelon Heplorn!" he shrieked.

Whispers of surprise echoed around the darkened clinic. At least they now knew who the blip on Garrus' visor belonged to, answering one of their many questions… from which even more spawned.

* * *

**Enjoy! and as a reminder, ME belongs to Bioware!**


	17. A Dealer of Sinful Choices

_I'll follow you down as we're passing through space…_

* * *

_Shepard sat at her desk, finishing her report of what happened on Tuchanka. Miranda was probably in her quarters, doing the same. The Cerberus XO would pass hers onto the Illusive Man, but Garrus knew Shepard was Alliance military through hand through, no matter what colors she wore. She would forward her report on to Admiral Hackett, but through a secured network, of course. _

_As Garrus walked through the door of Shepard's cabin, she tapped 'send' on her omni-tool, and sighed heavily, spinning her chair around to face him. _

_"What's up?" she asked. He paused before speaking, thinking carefully how he would word this conversation. He didn't want to sound as if he was questioning her motives, but he wanted to know why._

_"Shepard…," he began slowly. "You know that I trust you above anyone else and I respect your decisions on a mission… but… I'm trying to understand why you let Maelon go, when he admitted to the war crimes he committed..."_

_She chuckled, a thin smirk playing across her lips, "The same reason Sidonis was able to walk away from our little encounter."_

_Garrus furrowed his brow plates, "But he lived because you stepped in my way…"_

_"No… Sidonis could have died if you really had wanted it," she said confidently._

_"But-"_

_"But nothing Garrus. You had plenty of time to take the shot if you had wanted to. You could have also shot through me to get to him." Shepard said, leaning heavily in her chair. _

_"I couldn't have-"_

_"No," she interrupted. "You could have, if you had truly wanted him dead."_

_He scratched his unscarred mandible thoughtfully, his back against the fish tank. Before he was able to think of anything to say, Shepard spoke again, "Garrus… you and Mordin are both good people that have had a multitude of bad things happen to you… I… As I said before… revenge… it can change you…" _

_Her voice trailed off as she stared down at her hands laying her in her lap. Garrus glanced at the desk behind her, waiting for her to speak again. The desk, he noticed, was in an unusual state of disarray with datapads strewn across it. A small pile of used dishes stacked haphazardly on top of one another, lay forgotten in one corner. Among the mess and disorder, Garrus realized, with a swelling of his heart, the frame that had once held a picture of Kaidan was lying face down._

_"I just wanted you both to see there are other options than revenge…" Shepard said. "And who knows… maybe somewhere down the line, Sidonis or Maelon could have some bigger part to play in all of this," she said, gesturing in the air. "And remember we did them a favor by sparing their lives."_

_"Or it could turn around and come back to bite us in the ass…" Garrus muttered. Shepard snorted, "Always the pessimist… And you've been spending too much time among humans… You're beginning to pick up on some of our sayings."_

_"So let me get this straight… What you're saying is that we could have killed them, had we wanted it badly enough… You interjected just to show us there are other options, but not to necessarily stop us from going through with it… That was ultimately our decision?" he said, frowning. _

_Shepard stood up, nodding slowly, "Yes… we always have a choice… I'm beginning to understand that is what separates us from synthetics… from the Reapers…"_

* * *

Garrus unfolded his rifle and flicked on its flashlight, pointing it at the spooked salarian. And sure enough, he recognized Maelon's scrunched up features, his shifty eyes and slicked back horns.

"What the hell are you doing here Maelon?" Archangel growled, gun still pointed in the salarian's face.

"I- I can explain!" he screeched, wincing as Garrus' rifle inched threateningly closer to him.

Liara pushed her way toward Garrus and placed a hand tenderly on his shoulder, in a very Shepard sort of way.

"Garrus…," she said gently. "He knows something… You saw him in the security vid. We can't kill him yet."

Maelon nodded his head eagerly against the floor, "Yes… YES! Listen to the asari!"

Archangel groaned and moved his booted foot to the salarian's throat, his subharmonics teeming with an underlying rage and frustration, "I'm going to let you up… for a chance to explain yourself. Try to escape, and I will kill you. Lie to me, and I'll kill you. I want to know everything you know. Understand?"

"Y-Yes…" the salarian croaked.

"Satisfied?" the turian said to Liara, releasing Maelon. Liara nodded, but removed her pistol from its holster and pointed it at Maelon, just in case.

Javik stood up, rolling his four eyes, mumbling, "Stupid primatives."

Maelon got to his feet, hands rubbing together nervously and knees quaking. Wrex shifted in front of the only exit, blocking the escape, if Maelon decided to run.

"I- I remember you," Maelon said, pointing a finger at Garrus. "You were with Shepard and Mordin on Tuchanka!" He turned to Wrex, saying, "And you're the leader of clan Urdnot. Congratulations on finding a cure for the genophage… something I wasn't expecting that to happen any time soon…"

He paused and looked around the rest of the group, frowning when someone he expected wasn't among them. "Where is Mordin? And Shepard?"

"Mordin died curing the genophage… He was willing to give his own life to save all of Tuchanka, rather than subjugating countless to death and torture," Wrex growled.

"Oh… Uh… I- I'm sorry hear that…," Maelon said, hanging his head and wringing his hands more uneasily than before.

"As for Shepard," started Archangel, crossing his arms in front of him. "We were hoping you could tell us that…"

Maelon scrunched up his face, disgust and confusion overtaking his features.

"I can't- Why- What would make you think I know where the Commander is?" he stammered.

"We saw the security vid. You were doing something to Shepard," Garrus said. "And I want to know what."

"N- No. I can't!"

"Enough of these games, salarian!" Javik shouted, his hands flaring to life with green biotics. Wrex stepped forward to intercept the prothean, hands on his shotgun.

"The pyjack knows something, and I'll be damned if I let you ruin our chances of finding Shepard," rumbled Wrex menacingly. Javik glowered at the hulking krogan, staring up the barrel of his gun.

"Knock it off! The both of you!" shouted Garrus to Wrex and Javik. He turned to Maelon "I'll ask you again. Where is Shepard?"

"I- uh- I- I can't!" Maelon clawed at his own face. "You don't understand! I can't tell you! They'll kill me!"

Hannah Shepard approached the terrified salarian, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Javik groaned irritably, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. Maelon jerked under the Admiral's touch.

"Maelon Heplorn is it?" she asked quietly. Garrus was taken aback by the tenderness in her voice, as if she was speaking to a small and frightened child. After a brief pause, Maelon nodded slightly in response.

Those present grew quiet, watching the scene before them, unfold. Genuine concern was etched upon Hannah's face.

"What is it that you're doing here, Maelon?" she whispered.

He rubbed the back of his neck, breathing heavily, "I- uh… They sent me…"

"Who, honey? Who sent you?"

"Um…," was all he could manage.

"It's okay. You're safe here. You can tell us. You can tell _me_," Hannah said softly. Javik snorted in his corner, scoffing at the conversation. Garrus shot him a threatening look, silently advising him to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Was it Cerberus?" the Admiral said.

"No! I mean… yes! I mean… sort of!" Maelon squawked, rubbing his eyes furiously. His behavior was becoming increasingly more erratic and odd, unsettling Garrus with every broken sentence. Maelon breathed deeply through his tiny nostrils, in an attempt to regain his composure.

"Ugh! I'm dead already… I might as well tell you… They'll find out what I did… Th- They won't like it one bit…," he began. Over the next fifteen minutes, the salarian recounted his tale of what happened after he left Tuchanka. "I returned here, to Omega… to continue Mordin's work in this very clinic, hoping I might one day forgive myself for what I had put those female krogan through. I wanted to do anything I could to right the wrong of the genophage. So… I spent the next year or so here, helping those less fortunate than I, until Cerberus came.

"They overthrew Omega, shut down my clinic and captured me, with the intention of killing me, because I was salarian. I managed to talk them out of it… telling them I could help… I knew genetics... I knew genocide… biowarfare… I knew war… and how to play the game… They allowed to me live, so long as I helped them with what they asked of me…

"I'm ashamed to admit it… b-but I helped them create the adjutants…" he said, hanging his hand and looking at his feet.

Liara frowned, shaking her head, "The adjutants were Reaper foot soldiers… Cerberus didn't create them…"

"True… they were originally Reapers… until Cerberus… or rather… the Illusive Man… found a way to overwrite the Reaper code and create their own to control the adjutants, making them obedient slaves… They were the perfect killing machine… capable of wiping out an entire, unsuspecting colony of aliens. The Illusive Man was searching for a way to overwrite the code in the Reapers themselves… to control them. His ultimate goal, as crazy as it sounds, was to become an entity, shedding his human visage, and bending organic life to his will… like a god."

"Impossible," spat Javik from his place among the shadows.

It was Maelon's turn to scoff, "You obviously have no idea what Cerberus was… is capable of, or of what sort of power they wield… I- It's not of this realm..."

A sudden thought occurred to Garrus… something he had not thought of in a long while… something he never imagined he would repeat… _There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own, you cannot even imagine…_

Garrus was unaware he had said it aloud, as the others turned to him, confusion written upon all their faces, except Liara's. Her eyes widened in understanding.

"Soveriegn," she breathed. Turning to Maelon, and shaking with anticipation, she said, "This galaxy… this universe… exists on a single plan? Th-there are others?!"

The salarian twisted his face, nodding slowly, "There are only several beings that are aware of this… The Reapers, the leviathan, and a handful of others across time… The exposure of other realms would cause the entirety of existence to unravel."

"If this were true, salarian, my people's scientists would have discovered these _realms_ long ago…" Javik hissed angrily.

"No… they would not have… You don't get it!" Maelon shouted. "Ugh! I can't speak of it! They will hear me… They'll know, the moment I speak of them."

Garrus was convinced the salarian had lost his mind, but Liara seemed inclined to believe him. Glancing toward the others, he spotted Wrex yawning, by the door and Tali cradling her shotgun loosely in her hands, helmeted head leaning casually against Wrex's arm. Neither seemed too interested in this… _other worldly_ crap… Hell… he was beginning to grow tired of this guesswork and nonsense. His father's brow plates were arched as well, seemingly unimpressed as well.

Hannah Shepard massaged her temples with her index fingers, attempting to sort through this mess. "Okay…," she said finally. "Tell us of my daughter."

Maelon puffed out his chest, gathering his courage to continue with his account. His features had softened and it no longer seemed as if he was contending with himself.

"She's being held at the new Cerberus headquarters…," he held up his hand just as Garrus was about to ask where it was. "I can't tell you where it is because I am unsure of its location myself, but it's not a far journey between here and there… a few days… perhaps…

"I don't know what they want with her… but they made me surgically implant a mind control chip to the base of her brain… I tampered with it the best I could… to make it not function properly… she was able to fight it for some time… but I fear they're doing a number of other things to her… to crumble her resolve… to bend her to their needs… I-I've seen weaker people succumb to their torture quicker than she… Shepard's strong… but everyone has their breaking point…"

Garrus' insides twisted into angry knots as Maelon recounted his story. He wanted to throttle the salarian for all of Cerberus' misguided deeds. Admiral Shepard fought off tears of her own as she listened, wiping them away furiously with the back of her hand. Other than a slight, uncomfortable shift, Tychus gave no indication of his skeptism.

"I don't care who you are… Shepard doesn't deserve this… any of this… she never did…," Maelon continued. "I came back to Omega because Cerberus thought you might be coming here… They asked me to spring a trap to get you killed… but I followed you, after I set it up… to make sure it was never sprung while you were here… I left her omni-tool for you to find it, in case something should have happened to me… I had hoped it would allow you to find her somehow."

"What sort of trap?" Garrus asked.

It was Maelon's turn to chuckle derisively, "A bomb."

"What is it with bombs these days? First the one on Virmire, then the one on Tuchanka… and now this one…," groaned Wrex.

Maelon shrugged and pulled up his omni-tool, "It's set to go off in exactly 11 minutes and 53 seconds. You better get the hell out of here… I-I can try to disable it, but I'm not promising anyth-"

He was cut off by a deep, guttural scream from outside the clinic door, followed by another a bit further away.

"Of course…," groaned Maelon, rolling his eyes, exasperated.

"Spirits!" whispered Tychus.

"What the hell was that?!" Garrus demanded, unfolding his rifle, and signaling the others to do the same.

"What else… but adjutants," said Maelon, ripping up a loose floor tile, opposite the door. Garrus swore under his breath, and then shouted "Where is this bomb?!"

"Right here," said Maelon, looking quite pleased with himself. Garrus looked into the space below the floors, and sure enough, there was a five foot around, metallic sphere, with a timer on it that read _9:47_, _9:46_, _9:45_… "There's a vent above us that leads out of here. You should-"

Wrex interrupted the salarian, "We all won't be able fit through there!"

"And I'm not leaving anyone behind!" shouted Garrus. Glancing at the heat signatures on his visor, he noticed at least half a dozen adjutants beyond the doorway. Turning to Maelon a final time, Garrus said, "You're not coming with us, are you?"

The salarian snorted, "Plans change… I need to make sure this bomb goes off as scheduled. Hopefully I can get these damn things to pay attention to me after you ambush them, and destroy them once and for all. I pray these are all the adjutants that are left."

_8:58_, _8:57_, _8:56_…

Maelon stood up, extending his shaking hand. "Good luck," he said. "And remember… don't go towards the light. It can be deceiving."

Garrus nodded, and slowly, skeptically, said, "Uh… To you as well, Maelon… Thank you."

_8:44_, _8:43_, _8:42_…

"Ready?" Archangel said, charging his Overload.

"Ready!" came the response of his six companions.

"And Vakarian?" Maelon said, drawing his own pistol. "If it's any consolation, she spoke of you often… Even under extreme… err… circumstances… she called out for you…"

And with that, Archangel surged ahead of his comrades, with all the fury of hell, and kicked open the clinic door to face an onslaught of hideous creatures.

* * *

**Phew! That was a long one! I definitely wasn't too happy with the way it originally came out... but now I am quite pleased with it! And as always... Thank you all for the love and support! It is definetly helps keep me going, especially when I get frustrated with writing! :D**


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